A summer celebration at Woodwynn Farms will go ahead this month, even though a letter from Central Saanich council does not specifically give permission for it to proceed without a permit.
“We are moving forward,” said Richard Leblanc, executive director of the Creating Homefulness Society, who described the permit disagreement as a bureaucratic glitch.
“The letter doesn’t explicitly say that this year we can go ahead, but, speaking to senior staff, they say there has been no direction for any bylaw enforcement action,” he said.
“It’s a go, and that is a great relief.”
There still does not seem to be clarity about the need for a permit, Leblanc said.
“But the feeling we are getting is ‘let’s get through this event and meet afterward.’ ”
The problem came to a head this week when council held an in camera meeting about the group’s plan to hold the Believe in People Summer Celebration at the West Saanich Road farm on Aug. 24, even though they had not applied for a permit from the Agricultural Land Commission or the municipality.
Municipal staff say the society was told numerous times during the past year that they would need a permit because the celebration would be a non-agricultural use, but Leblanc said organizers were told a permit was not needed.
“That’s why we are confused. Our event planner explicitly asked in April if we needed a permit and was told by permitting staff that we didn’t. She didn’t mention Woodwynn Farms,” Leblanc said.
“There are other events on farmland in Central Saanich that don’t apply for such permits.”
Coun. Alicia Cormier, acting mayor for the meeting, said Wednesday she could not talk about the letter because it arose from an in camera bylaw-enforcement matter.
“I think we have clarified the process. The land-use bylaw does require that an application should go through the Agricultural Land Commission and council for non-farm use,” she said. “I can’t speculate, if the festival goes ahead, what additional bylaw-enforcement processes might come about.”
The celebration is the main fundraiser for Woodwynn, where the aim is to have a therapeutic community help people transition away from street life.
Plans are well underway, Leblanc said.
“We have definitely kicked it up a few notches with the talent lineup,” he said.
Artistic director is musician Daniel Lapp and confirmed performers include Neil Osborne and Never Shiver, Dustin Bentall and Kendel Carson, Fish and Bird, Russian musicians ESSe Quintet and the Lapp, Dobres and Dolan trio.
Children’s activities have expanded to include an entertainment stage, bouncy castle, pony rides and hay maze.
Jamie Martineau and Gianfranco Mosca will create dishes for sale in the farm bistro.
Proceeds will be used to bring more people to live at the farm, Leblanc said. There are now six people living at the campsite. The group received a boost Wednesday with donation of a motor home, he said.
