Update
This story was updated Aug. 26 with remarks from Tam Andersen.
The owner of Sturgeon County’s Prairie Gardens says 25 people could lose their jobs because the county has ordered her to stop all agritourism activities.
Prairie Gardens Adventure Farm announced on its Facebook page Aug. 25 that it would be closed Aug. 25 to Sept. 6 due to new restrictions imposed by Sturgeon County.
The farm, which is near Bon Accord, is a popular agritourism site owned by Sturgeon County farmer Tam Andersen. The farm has drawn criticism from some neighbours over the years due to noise and traffic issues related to its agritourism activities.
The post said new county regulations mean the farm can only have 100 people per day on site for small-scale consumer visits.
“This is unsustainable for our small farm. We are temporarily closed and hope to resolve this matter,” the post read.
The post said this is the first time in 38 years the farm will be closed at fall harvest time, and that staff are unsure what to do with all their crops.
Reached by phone Aug. 26, Andersen said she was surprised and confused by the county’s actions, as she has been working closely with the county for over a year on its new diversified agriculture bylaw (which, if passed, will create new regulations for agribusiness operations).
“We are absolutely dismayed when we were so close to finding a solution for this that they would forbid us our agritourism activities,” she said, and right when the farm was about to launch its fall programs.
“It’s quite heartbreaking for us.”
New restrictions
The new restrictions stemmed from an Aug. 17 notice issued to the farm by county officials.
As detailed in an Aug. 17 post to the county’s website, the notice said the farm had violated a forbearance agreement with the county which had paused a stop order issued to them last October. Due to “ongoing and significant public safety concerns,” a failure to comply with submission deadlines and occupancy limits, and requirements to confirm parking, traffic, and access improvements, the stop order is now in effect, and the farm is to stop all greenhouse, u-pick, market garden, and agritourism operations.
In an email, county spokesperson Jackie Sargent said county officials had received multiple noise, trespassing, traffic, and other complaints about Prairie Gardens. Last fall, officials observed “unsafe interactions” between people and road traffic on Lily Lake Road, including people parking on the road, as a result of activities on the farm and the farm’s inability to contain visitors on-site.
County officials issued a stop order Oct. 15, 2021, to halt the problematic activities. The order, a copy of which Sargent provided to The Gazette, said Prairie Gardens was not in compliance with the county’s land-use bylaw, as it did not have the necessary development permits. The farm was directed to seek a development permit and apply for land use amendments to legalize its activities by Nov. 1, 2021.
Prairie Gardens appealed the order to the subdivision and development appeal board. It also entered a forbearance agreement with the county on Oct. 27, under which it could continue operations under certain conditions (such as a limit of 300 people on site prior to 7 p.m.).
In its Dec. 3, 2021, ruling on the stop order (which Sargent sent to The Gazette), the appeal board noted how it received letters of support for Prairie Gardens, and that two adjacent landowners said they had not experienced any negative impacts from the farm. Three other adjacent landowners told the board that the farm caused “constant noise,” trespassing, and parking issues.
The board upheld the stop order but gave Prairie Gardens until Oct. 22, 2022, to seek the necessary permit and land use changes.
County officials witnessed and received complaints about other vehicle/pedestrian safety issues and evidence that the 300-person limit set by the forbearance agreement had been exceeded in recent weeks, Sargent said.
Andersen said these recent issues appeared to be related to the farm’s participation in Open Farm Days on Aug. 13 and 14.
“We absolutely understand that safety is important,” she said, and the farm made every effort to limit the number of people on site as per the forbearance agreement.
“There were more people than we thought, and we turned many people away that day.”
The county has now imposed additional limits on the farm. The farm is now limited to 100 visitors a day and is to operate between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., with all activities, including parking, to happen on site. Pedestrian activity is not allowed on roads leading to the site, and no events, weddings, ceremonies, retreats, parties, corporate functions, concerts, trade shows, markets, or farm-to-table dinners are allowed.
What now?
Sargent said the farm could resume its greenhouse, market garden, and u-pick activities once it completes a traffic and parking plan which ensures public safety. Council is also set to consider second reading of the Diversified Agriculture Bylaw this September which, if passed, will allow Prairie Gardens to get permits or zoning to legalize its operations.
Andersen said Prairie Gardens was just finishing the traffic plan requested by the county when these new restrictions came down and filed that plan with the county Aug. 25. She hopes to continue to work with the county to lift agribusiness restrictions on her farm.
Andersen said she also hopes the diversified agriculture bylaw will pass this fall to legalize agritourism. Agritourism is not defined by or listed as an allowed activity by the county’s current land-use bylaw, she explained, and no current land-use category allows for the agricultural, commercial, and recreational activities associated with agritourism to happen on a single site.
With agritourism banned, Andersen said her business is limited to just its community-supported agriculture program. Some 25 staff may be laid off if the ban continues.
“We have all kinds of crops in the field that are just languishing,” she said, all of which would normally be sold to on-farm tourists. It would take months to negotiate a deal to sell those crops conventionally, she added.
“It’s devastating for our revenue and devastating for our staff.”
