Delta council gave preliminary approval last week to a sweeping bylaw amendment aimed at prohibiting the production of medical marijuana anywhere in the municipality.
Civic politicians discussed a staff report that followed up on an earlier report recommending medical marijuana research, production or storage not be allowed in any zone, including the Agricultural Land Reserve, although the bylaw doesn't specifically mention the ALR.
Tougher new federal rules that take effect April 1 will dramatically change how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. The regulations encourage larger-scale operations rather than home-based ones, which Mayor Lois Jackson described as tough to monitor and a burden on the system.
The municipal report notes that since the announcement of the upcoming changes to the federal regulations, there has been "an upswing of interest in the establishment of medical marijuana production facilities on Delta's industrial and agricultural lands."
The production of marijuana for medical purposes is a relatively new type of land use and Delta's current zoning bylaw doesn't have a definition for it, nor does the bylaw specify any zones where it is explicitly permitted.
Concerned local farmland might be seen as prime locations to grow the crop, council agreed with planning staff on the bylaw change. The report also notes a medical marijuana grow operation could be considered a farm regardless of its location. Delta already prohibits the production of medical marijuana in residential areas, Jackson previously stated, noting this most recent move is concerned with farmland.
Deputy planning director Marcy Sangret said anyone wishing to grow medical marijuana would still have the right to apply for a site-specific operation that would be considered by council.
Delta has one production facility that has been operating for a year in an industrial zone. Its federal licence expires March 1 and the owner would have to demonstrate compliance with the new regulations in order to operate, the staff report stated.
The bylaw will now go to a public hearing.
