The regional district values farmland and believes that large, concrete-floor cannabis facilities have no place on it.
At its board meeting last Thursday, directors agreed with a staff recommendation to prohibit non-farm use cannabis production within all agricultural zones in rural areas, including Electoral Area A.
Development services manager B. Dollevoet said an Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) regulation was recently amended to clarify that the lawful production of cannabis was considered a farm use “if produced outdoors in a field or inside a structure that has a base consisting entirely of soil.”
As a result, any cannabis production contrary to this is now considered a non-farm use,” he said. This means local governments can restrict cannabis production in the ALR, he added.
In his report, Dollevoet noted the concern about the alienation of agricultural land to accommodate cannabis facilities. Therefore, staff support zoning regulations that discourage concrete-floor cannabis facilities in the ALR.
It was noted that the board could consider refusing a proposal based on issues such as impact on neighbours, nuisance (light and noise), etc.
The board will address the zoning amendment bylaw in the coming weeks.
LYONEL DOHERTY
Special to the Times
