The District of Sechelt’s new medical marijuana zoning bylaw didn’t make it past second reading on Oct. 7 – but Mayor Bruce Milne said he plans to bring the bylaw back in some form soon.
Bylaw No. 25-266, 2015 (Medical Marijuana) created specific zones in Sechelt for the production, cultivation, research and development of medical marijuana based on a lot’s size and its proximity to schools and playgrounds.
The zoning bylaw that went to public hearing stipulated that no schools were to be within one kilometre (1,000 metres) and no developed parks within 500 metres of any medicinal grow-op.
When the bylaw was brought back to council on Oct. 7 for second reading, Coun. Doug Wright said he wasn’t sure why the specified distance wasn’t the same for parks as playgrounds because the same children who go to school play in the parks.
“It would seem to me we should probably have, if 1,000 metres is the number, then we should have 1,000 metres from the park as well,” he said, noting he would likely propose an amendment to that effect.
The change, planner Angela Letman explained, would move the boundaries and make some properties ineligible that were identified as able to produce and cultivate medicinal marijuana at the time of the public hearing.
“That basically disqualifies almost all of the Field Road industrial properties except for our own airport,” Letman said.
Coun. Darren Inkster then suggested a 750-metre buffer to playgrounds as an amendment to the marijuana zoning bylaw and Wright seconded it. Coun. Noel Muller asked if the action would trigger the need for another public hearing.
Interim CAO Bill Beamish said it might.
“My feeling is that it’s substantive because of the impacts, but it might be worth getting an opinion on that aspect,” Beamish said.
Muller said he felt the new medicinal marijuana bylaw was important for Sechelt.
“So I’m not in favour at this point of an off-the-cuff amendment that could potentially put the entire process in jeopardy.”
When the question was called on the 750-metre buffer amendment, only Wright and Inkster were in favour, so it failed.
When second reading of the bylaw without the buffer amendment was called, councillors Muller, Alice Lutes and Darnelda Siegers were in favour while Wright, Inkster and Mike Shanks were opposed.
Milne then cast the deciding vote against passing second reading. He said he was opposed to second reading “because we had a divided council and I didn’t think we had support to go forward.”
At the end of the meeting Milne spoke about next steps. “I will not live with the existing situation, so as mayor I’ll be recommending that this be revisited very quickly,” Milne said. “The community wants an answer on that, but clearly we weren’t ready to give them an answer tonight. But we have to. So that’s something I’ll be talking to staff about Friday [Oct. 9] and finding the best way to bring that back.”
He said he felt an amended bylaw would have a greater chance of getting passed by council.
“I would like to avoid another public hearing, but that might not be possible,” he added.
