The City of Maple Ridge served formal notice Tuesday to close an unlicensed petting zoo.
The Meadows Family Farm Petting Zoo, at 24331 Dewdney Trunk Road, was operating as an unlicensed business, according to a city release.
“Earlier in 2019, the business was found to be operating without a business license from the City of Maple Ridge or the necessary approvals from the Agricultural Land Commission and Fraser Health,” says the city.
“Further, it was determined that there were structures added to the property that had not been constructed with permits and inspections as required by the city’s building and fire departments.”
At the end of June, the operators were served with notification requiring them to cease operation of their unlicensed business.
The city reached an agreement with the operators to take action to obtain the necessary approvals to operate the business legally and an interim business license was granted in mid-July.
The interim license was effective until Oct. 1, providing the operators with the time to obtain all the necessary permits and approvals.
“Key to this was the requirement to ensure that all structures were code compliant and that the health and safety issues for prospective customers were fully addressed in a permanent fashion,” says the city.
On Oct. 8, city staff conducted an inspection of the facility and found that the business had not addressed the outstanding issues noted as part of the interim business license agreement, and had expanded the business with new structures.
“As a result, the City of Maple Ridge has provided formal notice that the business must now cease operation. The business will remain closed until all outstanding issues have been addressed and the business conforms to all local and provincial regulations.”
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