A last-chance appeal to preserve a Saanich woman’s jam stand will be made at municipal hall on Monday night.
“I hope supporters show up in droves,” said Katherine Little, the stand’s owner.
Little was ordered on Wednesday to remove her blue-and-white stand from the end of her 1283 Queensbury Ave. driveway by midnight on June 22.
Her stand, selling raspberry jam and peach salsa made from produce grown in her garden, contravenes Bylaw No. 8213, which forbids retail sales in residential neighbourhoods.
Saanich Coun. Nathalie Chambers will put forward a motion at Monday’s council meeting that Saanich update its business licences to allow farm stands within the urban containment boundary.
“That Council direct staff to recommend bylaw changes and develop guidelines that would permit food stands/veggie stands to operate on private property inside the urban containment boundary in Saanich provided they are selling local food and food products grown on site,” reads the motion.
Little wants the bylaw changed for herself and others.
“Someone has to be the first through the door,” said Little.
“If it’s going to be me, it’s going to be me. If it’s for the little girl selling flowers on her driveway to pay for ballet lessons, I can be her voice.”
Bylaw officers acted on a complaint, Little said. Otherwise, they might not have ever paid her a visit.
Little and her family and friends hope supporters show up for Monday’s public meeting at Saanich municipal hall at 7 p.m. to show support.
She expects her topic will be addressed during the open forum at the beginning of the meeting.
“If Saanich council and the mayor see what support we have, our hope is they will give us a special permit to keep the stand open while this is going on,” Little said.
On Wednesday, Little met with Brent Reems, Saanich’s director of building, bylaw, licensing and legal services. Upon completing the review of the situation, he told her he doesn’t have the power not to enforce the bylaw — explaining that only council can change it, she said.
“I’m discouraged,” Little said. “It’s starting to take its toll, for sure. We walked out of there pretty defeated. It will take a few days, but we will rally and fight the good fight.”
Island Health received an earlier complaint about the jam stand. As a result, Little took a Food Safe certificate course.
To comply with regulations, she makes the raspberry jam and peach salsa in a commercial kitchen rented from the Mustard Seed Street Church.
She has been forced to remove most of the signage for her stand.
Little has been told she can sell her jams at craft fairs — without having to use a commercial kitchen. She said that while that’s fine, the idea was to have a stand at home in her Maplewood neighbourhood, adjacent to Cedar Hill Golf Course, based on honour-system sales.
“The whole point in this stand was to put jars out in the morning and say ‘hi’ to neighbours and then do my gardening,” Little said. “It was about that interaction, that’s why we kept doing this. It was that sense of community.”
Little, 46, started making preserves last year as a form of therapy for post traumatic stress disorder. She previously worked in counter-terrorism and organized crime for the Canada Border Services Agency.
