Pubdate: Wed, 02 Apr 2014
Source: Eagle Valley News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Sicamous Eagle Valley News
Contact:  http://www.eaglevalleynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4362
Author: Lachlan Labere

SICAMOUS' WATERWAY HOUSEBOATS MAKES CASE FOR MARIJUANA PRODUCTION FACILITY

Setbacks will be a setback to medical marijuana production on
industrial land within the District of Sicamous.

This was the argument presented last week to municipal council by
legal counsel for Waterway Houseboats during a public hearing on
proposed zoning amendments to accommodate medical marijuana production
within the district.

Lawyer Jeff Robinson of the firm Rush Ihas Hardwick, told council the
zoning changes being considered, particularly the proposed increased
setbacks, intended to address security, access, noise and odour
concerns, could prevent Waterway from making its former manufacturing
facility available for the production of medicinal marijuana under new
federal regulations.

"That facilty is no longer needed for houseboat operations. My client
is aware of a tenant that would potentially use that facility for
licensed production of medical marijuana," said Robinson, noting the
facility would be a legal operation, compliant with the new federal
regulations. "However, the proposed zoning text bylaw would prohibit
my client from using that existing land for that purpose. And the
reason it would prohibit it is because of the setbacks and the minimum
lot size."

The hearing began with an explanation by district community planning
officer Mike Marrs of the proposed zoning amendments and how they were
determined. He said a lot of information forming the new Marijuana for
Medical Purposes regulation is still being processed and, therefore,
he found there are a lot of unknowns for municipalities that, like
Sicamous, are attempting to put bylaws in place to address the
potential of medical marijuana facilities coming to the community.

Marrs said local governments have the ability to regulate marijuana
production facilities and direct such uses to specific zones. Staff
recommended to council that marijuana production be restricted to
lands zoned general industrial, and large holdings if within the
Agricultural Land Reserve.

"We don't have a lot of the land (industrial), but staff has had a
couple of inquiries in terms of production facilities within
industrial areas and these amendments are to try to bring about some
regulation within our bylaws so that council can regulate the
applications...," said Marrs.

Not having any precedents to draw from, Marrs said staff considered
regulations applicable to the location of hog production facilities,
"which allow greater setback areas to try and control odour and keep
those type of facilities away from residential areas or adjoining
schools or park areas."

For medical marijuana operations on properties zoned for large
holdings, staff recommended a setback of 30 metres, and 60 metres
where the operation is adjacent to residences, schools or parks and
other public/institutional uses. For land zoned general industrial,
setbacks of 15 or 30 metres were proposed.

So far as these setbacks are to control odour, noise and security,
Robinson called them redundant with the new federal regulations, which
he said provide strict guidelines.

"I would submit to council there is no need for increased setbacks to
control odour, when the government regulation - which we can assume is
going to be enforced quite strictly - is going to address that problem
for council," said Robinson, explaining his client has suffered
financially as of late and the setbacks would potentially deny them an
opportunity to "create a more stable source of income and diversify
operations based on property it already has."

"What seems to me to be happening here is, if there is going to be
medical marijuana production in Sicamous... this bylaw will drive it
into the ALR," said Robinson. "And that, I submit, is not a good thing
for this community. If you look what other communities are doing on
this issue, their primary concern is having massive factories directed
into ALR land... Don't be mistaken here. Medical marijuana production is
not farming. This is big production."

Marrs noted that applicants for whom the setbacks don't work could
pursue a variance, a point that was later reiterated by Coun. Don
Richardson prior to council approving the zoning amendments.

"I think what this is doing is setting a generic pattern, shall we
say, to open the doors to these considerations...," said Richardson.
"Again, my concern is a lot of the impacts it could have with all
these partial legitimate operations at this time. And Health Canada on
one hand is saying don't smoke cigarettes, but now they turn to us and
say, you can do marijuana. So, it's real confusing." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D