MacKinnon Brewery will have to relocate both stone walls they had constructed in previous years. A vote by Lennox and Addington County council ended 6-2 in favour of ultimately relocating the walls.

MacKinnon Brewery built a stone wall in 2021 along County Road 7 at Miller Seed Farm, and another in 2022 along County Road 22 at their Old Barn event space. When staff became aware of the fact the walls were constructed on county property, they commissioned a safety review and found the walls to be too close to the roads. Both walls were deemed as safety risks to road users.

According to the Transportation Association of Canada Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads and the Ministry of Transportation Ontario Geometric Design Standards for Ontario Highways, there are recommended clear zones along roadways. Both walls are within the clear zones.

In April, county staff sent a letter to the brewery noting the safety hazard of the walls. The letter requested both walls be removed no later than July 28. In June, Ivan MacKinnon made a deputation requesting that council allow the stone walls to remain where they are, but council turned it down. At that time, they granted the brewery an extension until Nov. 1, as the process of removing and relocating the walls is a time consuming project.

At their most recent meeting, council received another presentation from the brewery regarding the wall. The brewery offered two possible solutions, including a guard rail on the road side of the wall, and an adjustment of the property line. Upon further review and consultation, staff ultimately turned down both options, and took the matter to a vote. Director of Infrastructure Services Chris Wagar explained why adding a guiderail wouldn't help reduce liability.

"Technically, the walls shouldn't be there, because it's a man-made structure. It's not pre-existing that we're building a road around and we're protecting an object that cannot be removed. This object can be removed," said Wagar.

Moving the property line would involve moving the clear zone. Clear zones are attached to the roads themselves, so this would mean moving the entire road. According to Wagar, this would be very expensive, inefficient, and create even more problems with the clear zones.

With the vote ending in favour of relocating the walls entirely, the brewery must continue construction related to removing the wall along County Road 7, and begin the removal of the one on County Road 22.

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