Kelowna readies bylaw change for medical marijuana grown on farms

KELOWNA – Changes to the city’s agricultural zoning bylaw regarding medical marijuana production facilities are coming soon.

Planner Melanie Steppuhn says city staff have been working with bylaw standards put forth by the Agricultural Land Commission in 2014 in crafting an amendment to the city's A1 zoning bylaw.

Steppuhn says the standards will be used by communities across the province and set out parameters on such things as minimum lot size and building height.

Because it is now an allowable farm use, communities cannot stop a medical marijuana producer licensed by Health Canada from setting up shop on agricultural land, but Steppuhn views the bylaw standards as helpful.

“The standards are positive for local government because it gives us some ability to have input into such things as lot coverage and adjacency to parks and schools,” Steppuhn adds.

The ALC bylaw standards suggest a maximum 35 per cent lot coverage with a 150-metre setback from parks and schools and a building no higher than 15 metres.

Medical marijuana production facilities will need a 30 metre buffer from residential areas that are not within the agricultural land reserve and must keep the same distance away from watercourses.

Steppuhn says the city’s bylaw cannot exceed those standards although they are free to set a lower standard in some cases.

While the city has lost some control over where the facilities are located, Steppuhn says the security standards demanded by Health Canada means people living near a production facilty have little to worry about.

“The overall permitting and licensing is done through Health Canada and it’s a very rigourous process,” she says.

The city’s industrial zoning bylaw already allows medical marijuana production although Steppuhn says no one has asked yet to set up shop.

“We’ve had enquiries and people coming to us saying they are in the process but nobody has been approved yet,” she adds.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca