A brewery and tasting room is coming to Hop Creek Farms on Government Road in Squamish.
At a July 4 regular business meeting, Squamish council members unanimously approved a development permit to add a brewery and tasting room to the Brackendale business.
“This project fits extremely well on this particular piece of property in this area,” said Coun. John French.
The proposed brewery design is meant to “reflect two large grain silos,” according to Philip Gibbins, a planner with the District of Squamish. The proposal also includes a covered patio area, space for a food trailer and barbecue, additional parking, bike parking and a pedestrian path along the east side of Government Road.
Gibbins said that the area not used for the brewery would be maintained for agricultural use. According to the farm’s website, it currently raises lambs, pigs and chickens on the farm, with cows coming from its sister farm after they mature.
French asked about the number of incoming jobs the proposal would bring, but Gibbins could not provide an answer at the time of the meeting.
Coun. Jenna Stoner, in her approval, shared some comments with the proponents from the farm who were in attendance at the meeting about bike parking and lighting on Government Road.
In her comments, she asked the farm to consider using bike racks that would support cargo bikes and cover some of them due to Squamish’s fickle weather.
“We know that it’s a wet community that we live in and so that would go a long way,” she said.
And although she said it was not the farm’s responsibility to deal with the challenges of Government Road, she hoped the District could work with them and others in the area to maintain effective lighting and reduce vehicle speeds.
“There’s also a new housing development that’s going in across the street,” she said, referring to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) 30-unit, affordable housing development on the west side of Government Road.
“So there’ll be more cars in this area, there’ll be more people, there’ll be more folks walking and biking.”
The farm still needs to secure several permits before starting the preparation and construction of the brewery. Still, Coun. Andrew Hamilton was enthusiastic about the idea for the community’s benefit.
“I do also look forward to the facility that will be created for our community,” Mayor Armand Hurford said.
Take a look at the proposal by viewing the report from council’s July 4 agenda on the District’s website.
—This story by Andrew Hughes originally appeared on the Squamish Chief
