Pubdate: Fri, 19 Sep 2014
Source: Sentinel Review (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Woodstock Sentinel Review
Contact: http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/letters
Website: http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2385
Author: Tara Bowie
Page: A1

COUNCIL OKS ZONE CHANGE FOR MEDICAL POT 'PLANT'

Decision Makes Medical Marijuana Grow Operation a Permitted Use

There was little buzz around the horseshoe at Woodstock city council 
Thursday night as councillors heard the details of a zone change that 
would allow a medical marijuana growing facility to operate at the 
former Thomas Built bus factory site.

Councillors asked no questions of proponent of Nik Van Haeren, 
president of Ontario Marijuana Growers (OMG), nor did they ask 
questions to Ron Versteegen, the city planner.

Van Haeren's request was simple - to rezone the property on Tecumseh 
Street from Transitional Industrial Zone (M4) to Special Transitional 
Industrial Zone (M4-special) to add a pharmaceutical and drug product 
industry to the permitted use.

"We feel with this particular applicant there is no greater impact 
and it will fit in with surrounding uses," Versteegen said to 
councillors during his report.

Council voted unanimously in favour of supporting the zone change application.

It's anticipated the cost to renovate the existing building, which is 
11,148 square metres (120,000 square feet), will be about $2 million. 
When fully operational, it's expected up to 150 people would be 
employed in the facility.

Van Haeren's purchase of the property, which the city vested for 
non-payment of back taxes, was contingent to receiving a zone change.

"I'm very happy with the decision," Van Haeren said following the meeting.

"We can now clean up an old building and make it into something that 
will employ people."

The next and greater obstacle ahead for the project is to receive 
Health Canada approval.

Van Haeren said about 1,000 applications have been received by Health 
Canada to build facilities to grow medical marijuana.

He plans to file his application, an 800-page document that focuses 
heavily on security measures the owner will undertake and quality assurance.

"They need to know that we are going to be able to produce the same 
product quality marijuana on a continuous basis. This is a 
prescription so they need to know it's going to be the same every 
time," he said.

Van Haeren expects to hear within the next nine to 12 months if the 
facility has been approved.

If he doesn't receive Health Canada approval, he still plans to 
convert the building into something but isn't sure what at this time.

"We will do something with it. It's a great building, or it will be. 
I'm fairly optimistic. We'll wait and see what happens," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom