Council for the Rural Municipality of Hanover has denied a request for a refrigerated container at a residence in Blumenort. 

Kriss Jasper appeared before Hanover Council last week. His residence is at 70 Second Avenue in Blumenort, where in 2020, a permit was pulled for a meat re-packaging home-based business. Jasper told Council on Wednesday that he wishes to place a refrigerated container in the backyard of their property to allow for greater storage of materials related to the business.

According to Jasper, they purchased a container with a silent condenser. He noted they would only be doing packaging on site, no slaughtering. Approvals for the home-based business do not include an abattoir. Jasper says if they received approval, the need for the container would be temporary, lasting maybe three to five years. 

Jeremy Neufeld is Planning Manager for Hanover. He told Council that containers are a conditional use in residential single-unit zones. He notes Administration has concerns regarding the aesthetics of such development and the potential for noise. Neufeld says Administration does not feel that the placement of a container on this property would be appropriate for the neighbourhood.

All three members of the Local Urban District committee of Blumenort spoke in opposition. Floyd Penner says he thinks there would still be noise coming from the container, which would disturb the next-door neighbour. He also expressed concerns about the damage to the ground and trees that would happen with moving the container onto the site.

LUD members Kevin Medeiros and Roger Dueck noted that a container like this should be located in an industrial or commercial area, not down a residential street. 

Paul Thiessen, who is a neighbour, also expressed concerns such as the additional traffic this would create down their street and the potential for odour if the meat would go bad from an extended hydro outage. He also had concerns about how much water this operation might demand and then what that could potentially mean for their well water supply.

Hanover Council denied the request. Reeve Jim Funk says part of their decision was certainly based on the opposition from the LUD committee and neighbours. 

However, Funk says it is evident that residents of Blumenort want what is best for Jasper. Even though his neighbour Paul Thiessen expressed concern, he also pointed out how Jasper is a valuable part of the community. Further to that, Funk says members of Council and Administration have discussed possible solutions with Jasper, for where he could park his container that has already been purchased. 

 

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