A contentious year for Ferox by Fabian Reis’s zoning application reached a decisive point Tuesday night: the winery has received estate winery status from council.
But there are strict limits on how it can run.
Niagara-on-the-Lake council approved a revised zoning bylaw for the winery at 1829 Concession 4 Rd., allowing it to operate as an estate winery while capping occupancy, restricting hospitality uses and requiring most of the property to remain in vineyard production.
Owners Fabian and Stephanie Reis also own the former Harvest Barn property, nearby at 1822 Niagara Stone Rd. The new bylaw ties the properties together to meet the minimum lot-size requirement for an estate winery.
This is not what the owners originally proposed. Their initial application sought to separate the two parcels and give estate winery status to the Ferox site alone, but council directed staff in October to explore tying the lots together.
The estate winery use at Ferox is only permitted if the Harvest Barn property does not also operate an estate winery. Both sites must also continue to function as a single farm operation.
“The estate winery would be on the Ferox property and would be removed from the Harvest Barn property,” said Kirsten McCauley, the town’s director of community and development services.
“I believe the total lot is just — between the two properties — is just over 10 hectares, (which is) within the policies of the official plan,” she added. “The minimum requirement is eight hectares.”
The new bylaw incorporates changes made through the application process and sets firm limits on the site: no more than 20 patrons in all hospitality areas, 75 per cent of the lot kept in vineyard production, no events or restaurant use and fixed sizes for all hospitality, retail, kitchen and patio spaces based on the approved site plan.
The retail space was removed from the 20-person occupancy calculation and a new “showroom” definition was created, making most of the room display-only and limiting tastings and walk-ins to four square metres.
The remaining space cannot be used for tastings or any other hospitality use.
In an interview with The Lake Report, Coun. Gary Burroughs — who voted against the bylaw because he felt the arrangement amounted to “a shell game on the property” — questioned how the town could realistically enforce that tasting limit.
“The enforcement of that has got to be unbelievable,” he said. “That’s hardly anything … I can’t understand that.”
Over the past year, The Lake Report has documented a formal complaint about the site, questions about permitted uses — including promoted food and patio offerings that raised concerns under farm-winery zoning — and the town’s reliance on its “engage, educate, enforce” approach as the application progressed.
At the meeting, Coun. Andrew Niven asked staff how the town would enforce the 20-person occupancy limit going forward: “Would bylaw frequently check?” he asked.
Fire Chief Jay Plato said enforcement of the new cap would fall to bylaw officers, but only if a complaint is filed.
“Bylaw enforcement, at this time, is based on more complaint-based — not proactive — for a situation like that,” he said, adding the town “will definitely investigate” if one arises.
Niven also asked whether excluding the retail area from the 20-person limit would affect the septic system, which is nearing the end of its lifespan.
“I just know the septic was a big piece,” he said.
McCauley said that’s why the revised bylaw introduces a new definition of “showroom,” making most of the retail room display-only and limiting tastings to four square metres, which is the only portion that counts toward septic capacity.
A separate application for a microbrewery and farm distillery at the Harvest Barn site is also before the town, but when councillors raised it, Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said it was “not a matter of this report” and moved discussion on.
