https://images.glaciermedia.ca/polopoly_fs/1.24141774.1590570931!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_804/a1-05272020-roadside-stand-jpg.jpg
Katherine Little, right, prepares to douse her friend and fellow roadside stand operator Colleen O'Farrell with champagne to celebrate after Saanich council unanimously decided to suspend enforcement of the bylaw that prohibits the sale of homegrown and value-added fruits, vegetables, flowers and homemade crafts from homes in urban areas.Photograph By Courtesy Colleen O'Farrell

Saanich’s OK for roadside stands offers a lesson in civic engagement

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One of the upsides of home schooling in the age of COVID-19 is that children sometimes get a real-life education.

In the past few weeks, Colleen O’Farrell’s two young sons, for instance, have had a first-hand look at civic politics, business, the law and the ability of one person to make a difference.

They’re just seven and 10, but they’ve already learned that, actually, you can fight city hall and win.

“For them to see mom standing up and, not wanting to break the law, but wanting to change it, I think it’s been a really good lesson for them,” O’Farrell said.

The owner of Foxgloves Flowers, O’Farrell set up a flower stand on her Saanich property this spring after her home-based business took a major hit when people began cancelling weddings and other events due to the pandemic.

Initially, she just intended to get rid of a shipment of flowers by arranging bouquets and giving them away in exchange for donations. But the response was so positive, that she quickly realized it might be a way to keep her business going.

“It literally started by accident,” she said.

The stand soon became a place in the Gorge area where people could meet and get to know one another while remaining at a safe distance, O’Farrell said.

“I’ve met neighbours on my street I’ve never met before. I’ve created relationships with people a couple of blocks away that I never would have met if this hadn’t happened.”

Then a neighbour complained, bylaw officers arrived and the district gave her 30 days to shut down for violating rules that prohibit roadside stands in urban areas.

Unsure how to proceed, O’Farrell contacted Katherine Little, who fought and lost a similar battle last year to keep her jam stand open on Queensbury Avenue near the Cedar Hill Golf Course.

The two women banded together to fight the bylaw; Mayor Fred Haynes and councillors stopped by the flower stand to check it out and thousands of people rallied to the cause.

“There was one complaint and I had over 4,000 signatures on a petition,” O’Farrell said. “So that’s pretty powerful.”

Saanich council responded Monday by voting unanimously to suspend enforcement of the bylaw’s provisions “that prohibit the sale of homegrown and value-added fruits, vegetables, flowers and homemade crafts” from homes in urban areas.

The stands will be free to operate until staff bring back bylaw amendments that will allow council to approve temporary use permits for each stand on a case-by-case basis.

Coun. Nathalie Chambers, a farmer, told council that the district has already taken a number of steps to assist residents during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“But we can go a little bit further,” she said. “And I think that by enabling people to make ends meet by considering their backyards like a bank account, it’s a different way of achieving stewardship.”

Haynes said in an interview that the changes will add to the community’s vibrancy. “I think it’s a great step in the right direction,” he said. “I applaud Colleen. I applaud the jam lady, Katherine Little, for their interest in providing local foods, local flowers. I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

The decision overjoyed O’Farrell and Little, who doused her friend with champagne as the two families celebrated.

“I was thrilled,” O’Farrell said. “I was so pleased that they saw fit to do the right thing and step up and help people pivot and be creative with their businesses right now.”

Little, likewise, said she’s “over-the-moon ecstatic” with the decision.

“It just took a pandemic to get council to do the right thing,” she said.

Little has been pushing for changes to the bylaw ever since her stand was shut down 11 months ago, she said.

“Then, of course, when Colleen got in the news, we were back in front of it. And I think a lot of the public didn’t realize that this issue hadn’t been fixed and they were outraged all over again.”

By Tuesday morning, O’Farrell’s business was blooming as usual, and jam was back on sale at The Little Stand on Queensbury.

“Thankfully, good or bad, they picked on the wrong flower lady,” Little said. “And they picked on the wrong jam lady.”

lkines@timescolonist.com


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