Farmers market roadblock frustrates winery, could take months to sort out

NEWS — A Kamloops winery has been told that it could take up to four months for liquor sales at the Kamloops Farmers Market to obtain approval from the City.

Harper’s Trail had hoped to be the first in line locally to offer its products on St. Paul Street, starting last Saturday, after the provincial government cleared the way in May for local liquor to be sold in regional farmers markets as part of policy reform.

The Farmers Market Society was keen to host local liquor producers, seeing the new opportunity as a natural extension of its mandate to support local growers. Yet when the City was approached for the go-ahead, bureaucratic obstacles popped up.

“It’s really frustrating, especially for the Kamloops Farmers Market, being a nonprofit society,”said Vicki Collett, co-owner of Harper’s Trail. “Now the City has thrown a wrench into the whole plan.”

Annelise Grube-Cavers, manager of the Saturday farmers market, learned late last week that liquor wouldn’t be included any time soon despite their hopes.

Randy Lambright, community planning manager, said the key consideration is the location of the market in a city street, a public right-of-way where there is no applicable zoning. As a result, the City is required to obtain public input and must also run the proposal past the RCMP, the City’s risk management group, the KCBIA and, since the market is adjacent to a school, the Kamloops-Thompson School District.

Even if the society went before council seeking special permission, the process could not be side-stepped, he said. When the province announced the policy, it indicated that local liquor sales would still have to comply with municipal bylaws.

“We looked at it to try to determine whether of not we were being overly democratic,” Lambright said. “At the end of the day, when you look at it, it’s the sale of liquor on our (City) property. We have to run it through the process.”

There may be no objection to the idea, but the process will still take time. Grube-Cavers is of the understanding that the process could take six to eight weeks, which might enable liquor sales before the end of the market season in October.

Collett said it’s not the first time the winery has encountered bureaucratic hurdles. Other regional markets have not encountered the same difficulties, she suggested.

She’s heard the City wants to charge a a $500 operating fee because of the liability concern. The Saturday market is in front of Stuart Wood school, but there’s a private liquor store operating across the street, she noted ironically.