East Gwillimbury council shoots down jamboree proposal

YorkRegion.com
Feb. 26, 2015
Simon Martin

Bud Brice has the strangest looking agriculture building you have ever seen.

His spacious dance floor is no place for a tractor. The stage structure was zoned as an agricultural building after Brice built it without the required permits.

Council decided last week there would be no do-si-dos or swings coming anytime soon to his field stage after it denied the longtime resident’s application to host a western jamboree this summer.

“How do we know that history won’t repeat itself?” Councillor Tara Roy-DiClemente said.

Staff cited a litany of violations and court cases against the town after Brice’s first attempt to host a jamboree.

“Just get ready for another court case,” Brice said, in reference to him taking legal action against the decision to deny his request. 

Even before council turned down his application, Brice was unhappy with the conditions he would need to follow to host a public event, including handing over a $3,000 deposit before staff did any work on the project, a $10-million insurance policy, a $10,000 damage deposit and his stage not meeting zoning requirements.

“It’s just out of this world what they are asking for. There is no way I can make these commitments,” he said. “They’re ridiculous. There’s a lot of jealousy in this township.”

Brice claims council is dishing up his “just desserts” for supporting Cathy Morton’s failed mayoral bid in the 2014 municipal election and said it’s too bad he can’t proceed because he planned to use any money raised from the summer jamboree to donate to local hospitals.

In 2006, Brice built a jamboree stage on his farm on Hornes Road.

The structure was to be large enough to accommodate two bands with a large dance floor for people to twirl, two-step and line dance the night away.

As they were putting the last nails into the floor, Brice said the town put a stop work order on the project because the stage didn’t conform to greenbelt use. 

Brice said he got all the approvals necessary from the town and its staff gave him the go-ahead.

The town disputes that, however, saying Brice never obtained the required building permit.

Two court cases were initiated in 2007 and 2008 by the town against Brice for a building code compliance and an injunction against using his property for a public event without necessary permits, approvals and exemptions.

That’s after Brice hosted a jamboree in 2008 without approvals, exemptions and permit for holding a public event, town documents confirm.

The judge ruled in 2011 that Brice pay a $7,500 fine, a case that cost taxpayers more than $50,000 in outside legal costs.

Town Solicitor Don Sinclair was reluctant to give the dollar figure of how much staff time the case cost the town.