With Chilliwack council approving ‘C9 zoning’ for marijuana retail ahead of the Oct. 17 legalization date, the future of cannabis sales in Agassiz could still go up in smoke.
What could of been a hot-button election topic is postponed to some point in the new year, when the District of Kent (DOK) will host public information sessions to get feedback from residents and make bylaws accordingly.
Since April 2017, when bills introduced by the Trudeau government outlined a not-so-distant future of legalized non-medical cannabis, municipalities have been scrabling to discern just how this legislation change will appear in their communities.
Local governments are tasked with regulating cannabis in the form of zoning, business-licensing and anti-smoking bylaws.
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Chilliwack city council’s new C9 zone includes a mandated 300-metre distance from schools and other public spaces, which Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz told Black Press is to “mitigate exposure to children and youth.”
According to DOK director of development services Darcey Kohuch, council hasn’t take any positions on cannabis retail yet because it’s waiting for fully established federal and provincial regulations.
In a report to council on March 7, Kohuch recommended setting a public hearing date and adjusting bylaws to prohibit sales until more research and consultation was completed.
For her part, DOK councillor Sylvia Pranger, who is the only candidate running for mayor in the upcoming election, hopes the topic of growing cannabis on agricultural land might be up for discussion too.
“I would like to see our land kept for producing food products,” she said. “Maybe it can be part of the consultation.”
The Village of Harrison completely banned cannabis sales within it’s borders when it passed a rezoning bylaw that without designated cannabis retail areas.
“We didn’t want these retail shops in our community,” said mayor Leo Facio, adding that council voted against it unanimously. “We don’t want to be in a situation where it may get out of hand and younger people may pick up the marijuana…”
Facio hopes the Village’s bylaws that restrict public smoking of any kind will keep it out of the Village entirely. But he admits that, with an election coming up, a new council could make changes.
“Zoning bylaws can be rescinded and changed, it’s entirely up to the council.”
With files from Jennifer Feinberg.