Pubdate: Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Source: Maple Ridge News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Maple Ridge News
Contact:  http://www.mapleridgenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1328
Author: Monisha Martins

PITT MEADOWS MOVES TO BAN MEDICAL GROWOPS

Lower Mainland cities wary of property tax pitfall

Pitt Meadows is set to ban medical marijuana operations in all zones
of the city.

On the recommendation of staff, council voted Tuesday to prohibit
commercial medical marijuana facilities in industrial and agricultural
areas, joining Abbotsford, White Rock and Langley, which have already
moved to stop the enterprises from setting up.

Pitt Meadows banned medical growops from residential areas in
2010.

At a committee meeting, acting chief administrative officer Kim Grout
said Pitt Meadows initially supported a plan to restrict the
operations to industrial areas, but decided not too after a recent
advisory from the B.C. Assessment Authority.

Early indications are that a grow operation in an industrial area may
be able to persuade the B.C. Assessment Authority to apply the farm
tax rate, rather than the higher industrial tax rate.

That could mean a $1-million parcel of industrial land, generating
$110,000 a year in property tax, would instead pay just $25,000 if it
hosts a medical marijuana farm.

Given the potential loss of tax revenue, city staff recommended a
complete ban, said Grout.

Council agreed.

"Our industrial lands are crucial to diversifying our tax base," said
Mayor Deb Walters, noting that unlike larger municipalities, Pitt
Meadows has a volunteer paid-on call fire department and a small
police force.

"I don't think we can afford it."

Cities have been busy passing bylaws to control where and how new
medical marijuana producers will be allowed to set up.

It's part of the federal government's move to outlaw home growing of
medical pot as of April 1 in favour of large scale commercial
production, which is to be tightly regulated.

While some cities have sought to ban commercial pot growing entirely,
several others, including Coquitlam, Chilliwack and the Township of
Langley, are limiting it to industrial land only, so the facilities
aren't built on productive farmland.

The strategy to steer medical marijuana growers to industrial areas
may backfire, Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin fears, opening a property
tax dodge for pot producers to exploit.

"There's potential there for lost revenues," said Daykin, who raised
the issue March 7 at Metro Vancouver's regional planning committee,
and asked staff to investigate further.

"The last thing that any of us want is to have millions of dollars of
industrial assessment all of a sudden devalued if it becomes assessed
at the agricultural rate."

If his hunch is right, Daykin said, municipalities may be better off,
at least financially, if they follow Maple Ridge's path and require
new marijuana operations instead go on agricultural land.

- - with files from Jeff Nagel
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt