The neighbours object
Two home-based businesses draw ire over noise and parking concerns
Some home-based businesses are not like the others.
I have worked from home for 13 years and my neighbours have no idea what I do. Heck, even my wife sticks her head in my office and says: “What are you doing?” I usually respond, “Working.” Even if what I am actually doing is looking up the poisonous properties of Japanese barberry bushes. (I’ll spare you the photos, but it is dangerous and painful. I’m healing, thanks for asking.)
But during their Tuesday, May 5 public hearing session, Trent Hills councillors heard a lot about a couple of home-based businesses that the neighbours are unhappy about. Really unhappy.
There were two businesses on the agenda. Althouse Ltd., a landscaping and excavation business that has been operating for a couple of years on the 10th Line East, not far from the Stirling-Rawdon border, and a proposal to open a tearoom and wedding centre in a large home on George Street in Warkworth.
Mark and Christina Althouse have applied to rezone their property to permit the operation of the landscaping business. They need to rezone because the storage unit that they already built and a planned pole barn have more than the 70 square metres of space permitted for a home industry in a rural area.
They are currently using about 120 square metres of the existing building and plan to use the 300 square metre barn for the business, Planner Cameron Law said.
Mark said they purchased the property in 2023 and started construction on the garage/shop in December 2023. Construction of the house started in October 2024.
He said the organic material on the land needed to be stripped and 250 loads of fill were trucked in. Much of the work was done in the evening and on weekends when the company’s landscaping work was completed.
Neighbours have complained about noise, traffic, and the use of a rural property as an industrial site.
“I have been concerned about this file for a long time,” said Councillor Gene Brahaney. “There seem to be a lot of irregularities in this whole file. I won’t say we were lied to, but I think definitely we were misled. It was supposed to be a residential property when it was severed. Nothing was ever mentioned about it being an industrial site.”
Brahaney noted that the municipality has turned down requests in the past when owners wanted to build a garage before a home was constructed.
“My question is are there more surprises coming down the road for this same property?” he asked.
Law said any rural or agricultural property can have a home industry “but this one has gone beyond the scale” so the intent of the zoning bylaw is to bring it in line and create something that can be enforced going forward.
In a handwritten note, nearby resident John Dennison said that he moved to the area after 32 years in Whitby and came for the quiet, rural nature. “Where I live is very peaceful. . .. I am totally opposed to this development” because it would create traffic, he wrote.
Neighbours Teri and Trevor Dunk, who sold the property to the Althouses, said in a written comment that they have complained to the municipality since 2024 that that the property was being used for commercial purposes. They felt it did not fit in a rural residential area.
“The daily activity occurring on the neighboring property continues to be extremely disruptive. The soil screening—using material brought in from other sites—begins early each morning, and dump trucks travel in and out throughout the day to unload and reload material. This level of activity is consistent with a commercial gravel pit, not a rural residential property.”
Teri told the councillors that earth is being dumped on the property, but Althouse insists that’s not the case.
Law explained that the municipality hopes to end the he-said, she-said disputes that have taken place over the past few years.
The other potential home-based business, is Nicole Wells’ application to rezone her home at 21 George Street in Warkworth to commercial so that she can operate a tearoom and event centre.
Her neighbours objected strongly raising concerns about the lack of parking spaces, potential late-night noise and the likelihood that patrons will park on the narrow street.
Wells said she hopes to use the parking lot of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church since it abuts the rear of her property.
But Marie Glover spoke on behalf of the church to say that while negotiations are under way nothing has been settled.
David Rollins and Glenn Kay also “vehemently opposed” the proposal. “The village of Warkworth is prized for its beauty and its quiet country living with the emphasis on quiet,” Rollins said in a written comment.
“This proposed zoning change to C1 will not only negatively affect the quality of my own life in my own home but will also negatively affect the value of my property which is completely unfair,” he concluded.
No decisions were made on the rezoning applications. The matters will come to council later.
Savery runs again
Dennis Savery, who has represented Ward 5 (Hastings) since 2022, has filed his nomination papers for the election this October.
He joins Bob Crate, current mayor, and Ethan Armit as candidates for that seat.
At this point, it’s the only area with a race. No other council candidates have come forward and their is only one candidate for mayor, Mike Metcalf, and one for deputy mayor, Rick English. Candidates have until Aug. 21 to file their papers.
I know there is some arm twisting going on in the community and efforts to persuade some women to run. Will keep you posted if anyone comes forward.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories on my website here.