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M.L. council to set cannabis zoning areas

Apr 25, 2018 | 3:00 PM

While there are still several steps before the cannabis zoning bylaw comes into effect in Meadow Lake, city council has provided direction on where the drug could be produced and sold.

At their regular meeting April 23, council gave city administration input on the matter.

“They’re fine with our recommendation we made for production and cultivation for it to be located in the heavy industrial zone with no buffers,” City Manager Diana Burton said. “For the retail location, their direction at this point is they only want the cannabis retail located in the downtown commercial zone.”

While council did not proceed with a first reading of the bylaw at Monday’s meeting, they will be doing so on May 14.

“The discussion was that the downtown commercial zone is for small storefronts,” Burton said. “The downtown commercial zone isn’t near sensitive-use areas like schools, parks, and playgrounds. It’s not like kids can walk into a cannabis retail location.”

Burton said it is imperative the zoning bylaws be finalized and definitions put in place by July 1.

“If you don’t have it specifically zoned, as soon as legalization happens, production and cultivation could be permitted wherever a greenhouse is permitted, and the retail location could be permitted any place that a store could go,” she said.

A public hearing was scheduled for June 11 to get feedback from the community on the bylaw, with the possibility of the second and third readings on that day as well.

 

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @ReporterKath