Sudbury blueberry seller seeks city’s OK to keep roadside stand

Arthur Choquette has sold blueberries at a location on South Lane since 2004. He had no problems for almost a decade until someone made a formal complaint in 2013, arguing the land was zoned for agricultural purposes, not retail. (File)

A long-time blueberry seller in Greater Sudbury is seeking an extension to a temporary bylaw that allows him to sell his product out of his roadside stand.

Arthur Choquette has sold blueberries at a location on South Lane since 2004. He had no problems for almost a decade until someone made a formal complaint in 2013, arguing the land was zoned for agricultural purposes, not retail.

So in 2014, he sought and received a temporary use bylaw allowing him to operate for three years. He received extensions in 2017 and 2020 and is now seeking another.

“The applicant advises that the site was recently disturbed and then re-leveled as a result of the paving of the adjacent Highway 69 in the summer of 2022,” said a staff report on the issue.

“Vehicles enter the subject lands via South Lane Road, circle around the tent frame and exit the site in a forward motion.”

To receive the extension, neighbours around the blueberry stand had to be consulted, but the city said so far, no one has objected.

The report recommends approval from city council, but said the stand has to be moved 14 metres from the roadway, instead of the eight metres currently required.

And longer term, the report said work on Highway 69 may affect future approvals.

“The Ministry of Transportation has indicated that future highway improvement plans for Highway 69 and South Lane Road may affect future support of this temporary use,” the report said.

“Going forward, the applicant should be encouraged to identify an appropriately-zoned location for their business.”