The grow-ops are coming, and there is not much Island municipalities can do about it. Medical marijuana production in Canada is shifting from small, home-based producers 鈥� of which there were more than 11,500 in B.C. in 2012 鈥� to a few industrial-scale operations. The new facilities will be approved by Health Canada without input from local government, and municipalities have to figure out how to control them.
That presents a problem for rural municipalities in particular, which are the most likely locations for operations that are often windowless, concrete, bunker-like buildings. How do they give municipal officials and neighbours a say when the federal government has sole authority?
In Central Saanich, the puzzle has become real with an application to Health Canada from Evergreen Medicinal Supply Inc. to put a grow-op in a building beside Michell Farm Market, near the intersection of the Pat Bay Highway and Island View Road. The municipality, police and fire department were advised by Health Canada, and the applicant wrote to the municipality, but there was no local input into the federal decision.
In the sprawling Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, the land-use committee is trying this week to exert some control by considering amendments to its zoning bylaw. Any grow-ops on ALR land would have to be set back 90 metres from the front property line and 30 metres on the other sides.
Juan de Fuca director Mike Hicks said that would be similar to rules for composting facilities. Anyone who wanted to build closer to the lines would have to apply for a variance, which means getting neighbours鈥� approval.
It鈥檚 acceptable under the Agricultural Land Reserve to put an agricultural building on agricultural land, so the new industrial grow-ops are permitted in the ALR. The anomaly of such buildings deserves some attention.
The purpose of the ALR is to preserve farmland, of which B.C. has precious little. Pouring concrete over that good soil to build a grow-op or any other building seems like poor use of such a valuable resource.
Metchosin councillors are worried about that happening, and are considering a bylaw to limit marijuana buildings to 5,000 square feet.
鈥淲hat we have to do is to ensure we are not getting factories built in the middle of our ag land, we鈥檙e having to address it through our building sizes through our zoning,鈥� said Metchosin Mayor John Ranns.
It makes more sense, whenever possible, to put buildings on ground that can鈥檛 be farmed. That鈥檚 especially true of the grow-ops, which are more industry than agriculture and don鈥檛 have to be in agricultural areas or anywhere near fertile soil.
That鈥檚 happening in another application that the Juan de Fuca committee is considering this week. It鈥檚 a proposal to rezone a warehouse in an industrial area in Otter Point to turn it into a medical marijuana facility.
As with a variance, the rezoning application gives neighbours a chance to weigh in. It won鈥檛 be approved if they are opposed.
Municipal politicians are understandably resentful of the problem that is being dropped in their laps without consultation.
Municipal councillors 鈥� not the federal and provincial governments 鈥� are the ones who will hear from residents if there are any problems with the new facilities. They and local police forces will have to worry about the security issues of large buildings full of drugs for which there is a huge illegal market.
The federal decision to consolidate marijuana production has many benefits in improved quality, security and regulation, but the municipalities that will endure the fallout deserve to be part of the process.
