Pubdate: Wed, 12 Mar 2014
Source: Alliston Herald (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing
Contact:  http://www.simcoe.com/alliston-on/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2224
Author: Brad Pritchard

MEDICAL MARIJUANA JUST ANOTHER TYPE OF FARMING: CLEARVIEW MAYOR

South Simcoe Municipalities Not Sure How to Zone Operations

Clearview Mayor Ken Ferguson speaks very positively about his 
experience with a commercial medical marijuana producer that's been 
operating in his township for the past two years.

Ferguson said the municipality does not regulate the grower The Peace 
Naturals Project through zoning bylaws and so far things have worked out fine.

He said it was clear to him from the get-go that the medical 
marijuana operation was just another type of farming.

"These are the new things coming up for the future, the medical 
marijuana is widely used," he said.

Since medical marijuana operations are regulated by Health Canada, he 
said the municipality hasn't had much say over the grower outside of 
the development of the operation's site plan and making sure its 
building and fire code standards are up to snuff.

The Clearview grower is located at a farm property near Stayner and 
was one of the first businesses in Canada to receive a federal growing licence.

"It's very well regulated, it's tested," Ferguson said. "It's 
accountable from the seedlings right through to the harvest aspect of 
it. We have no issues."

South Simcoe municipalities meanwhile remain undecided on how to zone 
the operations ahead of new federal regulations coming into effect next month.

The changes will force people to start buying their medical marijuana 
from commercial growers licenced by Health Canada. The ministry is 
making the changes in a bid to better regulate growers and to address 
enforcement issues under the old system that allowed individuals to 
grow their own plants.

In recent months New Tecumseth, Essa, Adjala-Tosorontio and the 
Nottawasaga OPP have been working together on a standard zoning 
regulation. The municipalities are expected to continue these talks 
later this month.

There is currently one commercial growing licence being sought in New 
Tecumseth and three in Adjala-Tosorontio.

New Tecumseth Mayor Mike MacEachern said the town is leaning towards 
limiting the operations to industrial and light manufacturing zones, 
away from agricultural areas.

He said there are many factors that need to be considered in zoning 
the operations, from the facility size and requirements, security 
needs and the number of employees.

"From our community standpoint we just want to make sure it occurs in 
the right location and we can mitigate any issues that might result," he said.

Last month Adjala-Tosorontio passed an interim control bylaw to 
prohibit the operations until a final zoning decision is made.

"It's still very much up in the air at this stage," said Adjala-Tos 
manager of planning Jacquie Tschekalin, adding the municipality might 
create a list of criteria to help narrow down the appropriate locations.

 From Ferguson's perspective, commercial grow ops are best suited in 
agricultural areas since they require a large property, use 
greenhouses and have similar water needs.

A major component to the federal oversight is making sure the site is 
secure, which Ferguson said is especially important in remote areas.

"They have to meet a real high level of security, accountability, 
fencing, the list goes on. It's a huge list," he said.

Essa Mayor Terry Dowdall said he's not sure if the operations would 
be better off in an industrial area or agricultural location where 
they would be less noticeable.

"We just don't have enough information yet," Dowdall said. "We will 
have to wait until the full report comes back."

While the idea of having a grow operation as a neighbour could be 
troubling for some, Ferguson said local residents have been very 
accepting of the business.

He credited this to the operation owner for being up front about 
things and for the work he did to "set the bar" in terms of its 
safety and security measures.

"In my area there has been very little push back from the public," he added.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom