Parks Canada has given Jasper greenhouse owner Paul Cambridge written notice to improve his building or take it down before the end of April.

“I guess people may have to drive to Hinton for their bedding plants,” Cambridge said Tuesday after opening a letter from Bill Fisher, director general of Parks Canada for Western and Northern Canada.

Dated March 20, Fisher’s letter gives Cambridge 30 days to “improve the appearance of the structure to an acceptable level.”  

It doesn’t have to come to that, said Barry Romanko, manager of realty and municipal services for Jasper National Park.

“We want to sit down and talk with him,” Romanko said Tuesday. “The present situation is not acceptable; we have to find a compromise.”

Cambridge described his greenhouse as “a $10,000 engineered structure,” and said Parks Canada “just wants to get rid of it.”

“During the season, the greenhouse employs one person full-time and two people part-time. Those jobs would be lost and so will the money and time people spend on driving to Hinton for bedding plants,” Cambridge said. 

Romanko said the greenhouse could continue to operate as a seasonal structure that is put up and taken down every year, or as a permanent structure with a foundation, rigid covering, and appropriate landscaping.

“It isn’t a greenhouse; it’s a framework draped with soft plastic,” said Romanko, adding that the solution is in the answer to the question: “What does a good looking greenhouse look like?”

Romanko said the deadline set in Fisher’s letter may prove to be negotiable, if Cambridge is prepared to make the necessary improvements.

If the greenhouse is to open for the 10-week spring season this year, Parks Canada will have to approve ammendments to Cambridge’s land lease, Fisher said in his letter.

Green light for condos

In another decision, the building permit appeal of  Socrates Korogonas’ proposed development on Connaught and Bonhomme was rejected and the project given a green light. 

Romanko said “we felt that given the planned street improvements, the bylaw in the occupancy clause was sufficient.” 

Relieved was how Korogonas said he felt when Joe Polisuk called to break the news.

“Hopefully by the end of May we’ll start building,” Korogonas said.

“I’m glad to see that I can move forward and build something positive for the community,” Korognas added.