Pubdate: Sat, 29 Oct 2016 Source: Ottawa Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2016 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.ottawasun.com/letter-to-editor Website: http://www.ottawasun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/329 Author: Jacquie Miller Page: 9 BYLAW OFFICERS AIM TO SHUTTER POT SHOPS Two dispensaries charged with zoning violations Magna Terra Health Services in Stittsville was hit with a zoning violation notice from bylaw officers. Ottawa bylaw officers are the latest authorities to take a swat at the pot shops popping up around town. Two dispensaries have received notices of zoning violations for operating "retail stores" in industrial zones. City inspectors are also investigating the take-out window in a boarded-up pot shop to see if the operation violates the building code. It adds another piece to the puzzle over what to do about the 17 illegal dispensaries in town. Police are investigating them, but have not raided any - instead they've been warning landlords of possible seizure of properties. City bylaw officers have generally taken a hands-off approach. The dispensaries have not been issued business licences because there is no provision for illegal businesses. However, in the city zoning department, the dispensaries have been deemed to be "retail stores," say councillors Keith Egli and Riley Brockington, which has led to the zoning violation notices. The Ottawa Cannabis Dispensary on Laperriere Avenue in the west end was notified that it violates the industrial zoning for the street, said Brockington. The small green building is owned by the family that operates the auto-body business on the property. The business will continue to operate, said dispensary manager Neil Hanniman. He said the dispensary sells only to patients who have been approved by Health Canada to use medical marijuana, and that it is helping people. Medical marijuana is legal only if purchased from a producer licensed by Health Canada and sent by registered mail. The other shop that received a zoning violation notice, Magna Terra Health Services on Iber Road in Stittsville, has a lawyer negotiating with the city. Spokesperson Franco Vigile said he employs a nurse and considers his dispensary a "medical facility." Vigile operates another Magna Terra dispensary on Carling Avenue. The landlord received a letter from police two or three months ago, warning about the consequences of allowing illegal activities there, said property manager Pierre Rochette. After receiving the letter, the landlord renewed Magna Terra's lease for a year, but added a clause saying business conducted must be legal, said Rochette. There haven't been any complaints about the business from neighbours, said Rochette, an assessment that is echoed by the city councillor for the ward. "Franco is not a drug dealer, he's a businessman," said Rochette. "They run a very clean business. I don't see any bums there. Most of the people that go there have nice cars, they are professional people." At the CannaGreen dispensary on Roydon Place near Merivale and Hunt Club, business is being conducted through a hole in the plywood that was plastered across the storefront after a truck drove into it. Egli said city inspectors are investigating whether the makeshift take-out violates the building code. In the meantime, the landlord, who says he had no idea the "medical dispensary" that rented the unit planned to sell marijuana, has sent CannaGreen an eviction notice with a deadline of Monday. City bylaw chief Roger Chapman said he could not comment on specific cases, but property owners are usually given a deadline to comply with a zoning infraction notice. If they don't comply, a charge under the zoning bylaw may be filed with the Provincial Offences Court. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt