Gibsons council has given third reading to the zoning amendments that would allow a cannabis production facility on a property at 1037 Venture Way in the town’s main industrial area.
The proposal was up for public hearing on July 14, where two written submissions opposing the zoning were filed. One citing the potential impact of odours from the facility on the nearby residential neighbourhood in Parkland and another pointing out that while there are no grow ops in the area with approved zoning there are “several existing cannabis growing operations on this street.”
The zoning amendments were before council on July 21, where they received third reading with little debate, although some councillors acknowledged odour control as an area of concern.
The bylaw is on the agenda for adoption at a special council meeting scheduled for July 28, but mayor Bill Beamish said he was comfortable going as far as third reading, but wants to know more about the proponents and the specific plans for the facility before considering adoption.
Beamish told council he’s yet to meet with people behind the proposed facility or see any presentation from them.
“We have through our policy limited the number of production facilities to four, so by giving zoning for a production facility it immediately provides value to that property because there cannot be another one within 100 metres,” Beamish said. “We want to be very cautious as to how we use that power and ensure that the proponent and the proposal itself is one we support.”
Retail
As Gibsons council considers the zoning for the first production facility under the town’s new cannabis policy, the province’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) continues to process applications for retail locations on the Coast.
So far only two have received final approval. Coastal Bay Cannabis in Gibsons and 420 Hemp Shop in Sechelt, although the LCRB now lists Weeds, also in Sechelt, as “coming soon” and has assigned the story a licence number.
Applications are pending for a second Coastal Bay location in Upper Gibsons, a store called Coastal Green proposed for Wilson Creek and Sun Coast Culture in Sechelt – all of which have been endorsed by the municipal governments.
The province’s own plans to open a BC Cannabis Store in the new phase of the shíshálh Nation’s Tsain-ko Centre have been in the works for more than a year and the Liquor and Cannabis Distribution Branch, which runs the provincial retail stores, said it was hoping to open in early 2021.
