Indoor ice rink in Woolwich allowed to stay despite lack of permits

An outdoor rink in Woolwich has raised questions about how rules are enforced. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk has more.

An indoor ice rink built on private farmland in Woolwich will be allowed to stay, despite being built without proper permits.

The 19,000 square-foot building is located at 955 Sawmill Road, and serves as a storage facility for hay and farming equipment in the summer.

Renovations to turn the facility into an ice rink were done before the owners applied for proper zoning and building permits, but after township staff said the rink wouldn’t be allowed under agricultural zoning.

“They installed the ice rink after the fact,” said Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz. “So we found out about that after the fact and then approached them and said, ‘This isn’t an approved use for this building.’”

The owners applied for a zoning amendment bylaw, which was ultimately approved by council Tuesday night. However, not everyone was on board.

“I fundamentally have a problem with the precedent we’re setting here tonight if we vote for this in favour,” Ward 3 Councillor Kayla Grant said during the meeting.

“Just because you can afford to put in a very large hockey arena, doesn’t mean that you don’t also have to follow the proper procedures and rules that we have in place,” Grant said in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday.

Grant said she’s concerned about what council’s decision means for similar issues in the future.

“It puts us in a dubious standing to say to residents that you have to follow the rules when we’ve allowed others to bend those,” she said.

Grant also brought up concerns surrounding future complaints with the Ontario Land Tribunal, saying the township has backed itself into a corner by setting this precedent.

Meanwhile, Shantz said everything will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

“I certainly don’t condone going ahead and doing it without the proper approvals,” she said. “This one came around as it did, but certainly it wouldn’t necessarily be the same result for every case.”

Shantz added that if the owners applied for the zoning bylaw before building, she’d likely still vote in favour of approval.

Now that the bylaw has been approved, the rink can operate privately between Nov. 1 and March 31, but it can’t be rented out or used commercially. While the owners told council the rink is for friends and family, Grant said it’s hard to take their word for it.

“It’s like, well, you’ve already done it,” she said. “You have a history of not asking permission before, I’m not going to take you at your word for it.”

The owner is now tasked with working with the township’s chief building official to make sure the facility is up to code.