Three motions regarding cannabis-related business applications and regulations will be considered by qathet Regional District (qRD).
At the qRD planning committee meeting on Tuesday, April 9, committee members discussed three recommendations from staff for developing a cannabis framework for the regional district.
The first recommendation to the committee was to recommend that the regional district board direct staff to prepare a cannabis-related business policy to guide decision-making on cannabis applications.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said he did not think the regional district is going to see a shop open up in the electoral areas to sell cannabis.
“You can’t sell anything else there; you can only sell cannabis,” said Gisborne. “In most of the rural areas they are growing it in their backyards. Yes, we can do the policy, but I think as much of a hands-off approach would be best.”
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said staff has to have a framework with which it can address an application when it comes in.
“Whether we get them or not, it’s happening; it’s the real world now,” said McCormick.
The committee passed the first recommendation.
The second recommendation was that the board direct staff to prepare an amending bylaw for Development Services Procedures Bylaw 477 to include a fee for processing cannabis applications. A staff report to the committee stated that processing an application requires staff time, energy and resources, and in response, some local governments have amended development procedures bylaws to include fees for cannabis applications that offset the cost of meeting provincial requirements for public consultation.
Manager of planning services Laura Roddan said for applications qRD would want to consider, because the board is obligated to go through some sort of consultation process, it will cost money. This could include putting a notice in the newspaper, sending notices by mail and holding a public hearing. This could be anywhere between $350 and $1,000, depending on the level of consultation.
Roddan said if the recommendation is supported, then staff will bring forward a report on the recommended amendments, there will be detail on how the fee will be charged and when it will be charged.
The committee carried the second recommendation.
The third recommendation was that the board direct staff to prepare amending bylaws for each of the qRD zoning bylaws in Electoral Areas A and B to include cannabis-specific regulations.
Roddan said the only places where the regional district can actually regulate the growing of cannabis is within zoning boundaries. She said the three zoning bylaws in Area B are all neighbourhood based and they are basically all residential zones.
“Unless you want to wait and see if a grow op is going to pop up in the Nootka Street neighbourhood, it’s probably a good idea to consider amending the zoning bylaw to prohibit cannabis production in all zones in Nootka Street,” said Roddan. “Otherwise, there is no way to stop these facilities from going in.”
This would work in the Nootka Street area, the Myrtle Pond area, with the exception of agricultural zones, and the same thing would work with the Lund community watershed zoning bylaw. The regional district could prohibit cannabis production in all zones except those designated for agriculture.
The third recommendation also carried.
