Greenhouse business expansion moving forward
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A longstanding Wheatland County business is being allowed to move forward with the expansion of their physical infrastructure following approval by the Municipal Planning Commission.
The development permit application, which was reviewed during the Dec. 9 meeting, proposed the addition of three seasonal cold frame greenhouses to their existing operation.
“The current infrastructure exceeds capacity in the spring. To navigate this, products are transferred between buildings once shipments have gone out,” said Suzanne Hayes, development officer for Wheatland County. “Adding these buildings will make greenhouse space available when needed and reducing labour requirements and improving plant quality.”
The development permit is for the construction of two 20-foot by 120-foot, and one 20-foot by 96-foot cold storage greenhouses. Among the 12 conditions outlined by the municipal planning commission, no variances were granted to the land use bylaw.
Once constructed, the buildings will be utilized for spring production of bedding plants grown from approximately mid-April to mid-June annually.
During the growing season, the additional greenhouses will allow for the anticipated extra five delivery shipments, averaging one additional truck per week at the facility.
No concerns have been raised regarding estimated increased traffic to the site following the completion of the new greenhouses.
The applicant, AVB Greenhouses Ltd, has been operating within the county since 1978, initially consisting of three greenhouses. The business now operates, according to their own application as presented to the MPC, largely as a wholesale operation, as well as hosting a seasonal retail element.
Bedding out plants are grown on site which are largely supplied to garden centers, landscapers, municipalities, golf courses and hotels.
Via the land use bylaw, the greenhouse is defined as public, as it is a commercial, for-profit operation which sees both employee and public traffic in and out of the facility.
The term “public” in this instance refers to any commercial operation that is for profit and makes sales to the public, regardless of whether product is being distributed from private property.
Due to this, it was clarified to the Municipal Planning Commission, the facility required a permit, as opposed to being treated similarly to other agricultural facilities.
The development permit is largely tied to potential safety concerns. As the proposed structures will be open to the public, the particular classification requires inspections to ensure they will meet the county’s safety standards.
The Municipal Planning Commission approved the development permit application unanimously without notable objection during the discussion period. No estimated construction timeline was provided during the meeting.