Council has given third reading to a zoning amendment that will allow a cannabis production facility at a property on 115th Street. (Vanessa Broadbent / Osoyoos Times)

By Vanessa Broadbent

Osoyoos Times

Two cannabis grow-op facilities in Osoyoos’ industrial area have been given the initial green light from town council.

On Monday, council voted to adopt a zoning amendment that will allow for a cannabis operation at 11201 115th St. At a public hearing in June, the applicant was the sole speaker and no opposition for the facility was brought forward.

On Monday council also voted to give third reading to a zoning amendment that will allow for a cannabis operation at 11609 115th St., despite opposition raised at a public hearing that afternoon.

There are two buildings on the property, senior planner Don McArthur said in a report to council. The applicant plans to convert the north building, previously an auto repair shop, into a cannabis production facility later this year.

When an existing lease on the other building ends in 2020, the applicant plans to extend operations to that building as well, McArthur said.

Council heard from neighbours, including the owners of Osoyoos Desert Model Railroad, located directly beside the property.

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In a letter to council, Ulla and Poul Pedersen said the grow-op business would put their own “at jeopardy.”

“Already the smell from the cannabis grow next door has caused several of our customers to complain to us and our business caters to 10,000 kids each year and parents don’t want them to breathe in cannabis or be exposed to it,” the letter stated.

“We worry that we have to install an elaborate air filtration system at a great cost to us in order to eliminate the odour from the facility next door.”

Neighbouring property owner Lottee Mendes also addressed the smell of cannabis and shared worry it would lower property values.

“Already we have experienced very bad fumes from the smaller of the warehouses, so I can just imagine what the smell would be from a much bigger facility.”

However, applicants Nikki and Jamie Filipuzzi clarified that no cannabis is currently growing on the property while it awaits local, provincial and federal approval to move forward.

“What you’re actually hearing about, there are multiple buildings around us with illegal grow-ops in them currently,” Nikki Filipuzzi told council. “This is our problem, not legal ones that we’re going to regulate.”

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Once completed, the facility will have three sets of walls and ventilation will be completely internal with no air intake or discharge to prevent any odours, Jamie Filipuzzi said.

“Nothing leaves, nothing gets vented outside,” he said.

Resident Shelley McIntyre still shared concern that the facility would be “upwind” of town, bringing cannabis smell to Osoyoos’ downtown and beaches and “label our town as a skunk town for our visitors.”

If that were the case, cannabis smell would already be prominent in town with the alleged illegal grow-ops in the area, Nikki Filipuzzi said.

“The town would already smell like skunk and that would already be a problem, and it’s not.”

Council unanimously voted to give third reading to the zoning amendment. It will be brought back to council for adoption at a later date.