Pubdate: Mon, 22 Jun 2015 Source: Sun Times, The (Owen Sound, CN ON) Copyright: 2015 Owen Sound Sun Times Contact: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/letters Website: http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1544 Author: Denis Langlois Page: A3 OMB TO HEAR APPEAL AGAINST BYLAW Man Challenging Siting Requirements for Medical Marijuana Production A date has been set for the Ontario Municipal Board to hear an appeal regarding an Owen Sound bylaw amendment that would allow medical marijuana production facilities in certain parts of the city. Appellant Dustin McGregor as well as Owen Sound officials including city solicitor Harold Elston of Barriston Law, are to appear before the OMB on Aug. 5 for a one-day hearing in the city hall council chambers. The zoning amendment, which council approved March 2, adds medical marijuana production facilities as a permitted use in both the general and heavy industrial zones of the city. Those zones are primarily in the industrial park, which is northeast of Heritage Place mall and near East Bayshore Road. The facilities must be at least 70 metres from any residential zone, school, church or daycare centre. Outdoor loading and storage are prohibited. Pam Coulter, the city's director of community services, told council in April the amendment adheres to provincial planning policies and the city's official plan. It represents good planning, she said, and promotes opportunities for economic development in the city. McGregor, according to documents submitted to city hall, plans to argue the amendment "stifles small business" contrary to the city's official plan and could put the city at risk of a lawsuit if current federal production regulations are deemed unconstitutional. In a letter sent to city hall during the comment period for the amendment, McGregor said legal challenges against Canada's medical marijuana regulations could force the federal government to revamp the rules to allow people to operate production facilities from their homes. "So what happens to this bylaw when the regulations are declared unconstitutional? It would mean that a single marijuana patient or their caregiver would be forced to locate their personal grow in the industrial zones. "You can likely see where that would go. A lawsuit against the city alleging unfair economic advantage and a lawsuit the city would lose," he wrote. The bylaw, he said, "explicitly discourages small business" as it forces medical marijuana production facilities to be located only in industrial areas. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom