In three weeks, tens of thousands of people are set to arrive at Burl’s Creek for the WayHome Music Festival but organizers are still waiting for some temporary use permits.

More than 300 acres of the property will be used to accommodate campers and parking but that’s only if the permits are granted.

“They can go ahead on 92 acres of property that is zoned, now can they get 40,000 people camping, vehicles on that, I personally don’t believe that is possible,” says Oro-Medonte Deputy Mayor Ralph Hough.

Hough is still going through comments from several different ministries which highlight key areas the Oro-Medonte planning department needs to consider when assessing the temporary use application. The comments highlight traffic concerns, sewage and natural heritage and suggest it should only be used as prime agricultural land.

The planning department is still reviewing this material and will submit recommendation to council. Whether it will happen in time for the festival at the end of July is up for question.

In a statement to CTV News, Burl’s Creek Event Grounds said it has been working closely with all of its community and planning partners and are looking forward to hosing the WayHome and Boots & Hearts music festivals.

When CTV asked what it would do if the permits didn’t come through in time, Burl’s Creek said the expectation is that these events will be going ahead fully as planned.

Some local residents are fearful this event will go ahead no matter what.

“Well they’re going to be illegal, they’ve already said it’s going to ahead, we’ve asked the township to have an injunction to stop them,” says Bruce Wiggins with the Save-Oro group.

Hough says if the appropriate permits are not granted and if the unzoned land is used for camping there will consequences. Fines can reach up to $50,000 per day.

The Save-Oro group says they are continuing to push forward with their lawyer and stop the festival from happening before it gets underway on July 24th.