Decode Entertainment may be forced to take its Naturally Sadie shoot elsewhere, following a squabble with the residents of an east Toronto neighborhood.

The company has, since fall, been shooting its kids series in a former Catholic school and recently applied to have its zoning permit extended into next year.

But locals – who have complained vigorously about noise, traffic and other disruptions – blocked the application at the community council and, on July 19, the matter will go before the Toronto City Council.

If the city sides with the residents of East York, Decode will either have to pack up or appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Both sides have been at odds for months, and feelings have turned bitter. Residents claim that the shoot has laid waste to their neighborhood, while Decode insists that the problem is being exaggerated.

‘We’re making a kids show. We’re limited in the hours we can film,’ says Decode partner Steven DeNure, responding to complaints about late-night noise and traffic. ‘Effectively, we’re filming during working hours.’

‘And we don’t have a huge fleet of trucks… There’s minimal activity.’

Decode has not shot in the building since February. DeNure says the company is sympathetic, but adds that the neighborhood should send its complaints to the Toronto Catholic School Board, which rented the unused St. Aloysius School.

The locals fear that a zoning extension would lead to a more permanent studio.

‘We’re tremendously relieved that council agreed with what we’ve been saying all along,’ says local activist Ruth Childs, ‘but until we see if the tenant is taking the fight to the OMB we won’t be able to relax.’

The dispute comes at an awkward time for Toronto, which is working to improve its reputation as a film-friendly city. Childs made a brief presentation to the city’s film board in June, and has the written support of MPP Marilyn Churley and NDP leader Jack Layton, both of whom represent ridings in the area.