Robert Celt
New Member
Council passed two amendments to the land-use bylaw at their Jan. 25 meeting.
The first amendment was made in regards to semi-detached homes that had been built on four lots in Heartland that had been designated for high density multi-unit dwellings. The mistake came forward after the homes had already been bought and occupied. The developer approached the town about having the lots redesignated to bring the homes into compliance with the land-use bylaw with any associated costs being covered by the developer.
Council was displeased with the wrong type of homes being built on lots, but administration admitted they had not done their due diligence either and that they were working to ensure this does not happen again in the future. At council's request, they are also looking at ways to penalize builders that repeat this kind of error in the future.
Medical Cannabis
Council also added the definition of Horticulture Use — Medical Cannabis to the land-use bylaw. It was brought forward to council by town administration in order to be prepared for any potential applications, though none have come forward at this time.
The federal government requires that production facilities for medical marijuana be given fair consideration and not be blocked on what some might consider ethical grounds as it would interfere with a patient's right to the substance to cope with certain illnesses.
Without this amendment, anyone who would want to build such a facility would be able to apply for a building permit in the following districts: residential urban reserve, gravel extraction, urban reserve, general industrial, business industrial and business park.
The current definition would limit medical cannabis production to a fully enclosed stand-alone building within Cochrane's general industrial or business park districts, which are located between the train tracks and along Griffin Rd. They would also need to ensure conditions on site are not dangerous and there is no objectionable noise, odour, vibrations or environmental impacts produced as part of their operation, which must also be located 75m from residential and school sites.
Although the public was fine with the bylaw as was presented at an open house, Mary Lou Davis-Eckmeier moved to amend the definition so that the buffer would be 150m, stating that it behoves council to err on the side of safety.
Mayor Ivan Brooker was sceptical of such a need, noting that Health Canada has a very restrictive application process and that the facilities have stringent security rules.
Councillor Ross Watson added that people seem to be reluctant about a medical cannabis facility more on the basis of it being marijuana that anything else, which raised the question of whether this set a precedent when it comes to facilities that use dangerous toxic substances or anything that people might simply deem to be dangerous. As far as he could tell, the 150m buffer was meant to say no to any such facility without actually saying no.
In the end, councillors Jeff Toews, Gaynor Levisky, Morgan Nagel and Davis-Eckmeier voted in favour of increasing the buffer.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Alberta: Council Adds Medical Cannabis To Land-Use Bylaw
Author: David Feil
Photo Credit: tumblr
Website: Cochrane Times
The first amendment was made in regards to semi-detached homes that had been built on four lots in Heartland that had been designated for high density multi-unit dwellings. The mistake came forward after the homes had already been bought and occupied. The developer approached the town about having the lots redesignated to bring the homes into compliance with the land-use bylaw with any associated costs being covered by the developer.
Council was displeased with the wrong type of homes being built on lots, but administration admitted they had not done their due diligence either and that they were working to ensure this does not happen again in the future. At council's request, they are also looking at ways to penalize builders that repeat this kind of error in the future.
Medical Cannabis
Council also added the definition of Horticulture Use — Medical Cannabis to the land-use bylaw. It was brought forward to council by town administration in order to be prepared for any potential applications, though none have come forward at this time.
The federal government requires that production facilities for medical marijuana be given fair consideration and not be blocked on what some might consider ethical grounds as it would interfere with a patient's right to the substance to cope with certain illnesses.
Without this amendment, anyone who would want to build such a facility would be able to apply for a building permit in the following districts: residential urban reserve, gravel extraction, urban reserve, general industrial, business industrial and business park.
The current definition would limit medical cannabis production to a fully enclosed stand-alone building within Cochrane's general industrial or business park districts, which are located between the train tracks and along Griffin Rd. They would also need to ensure conditions on site are not dangerous and there is no objectionable noise, odour, vibrations or environmental impacts produced as part of their operation, which must also be located 75m from residential and school sites.
Although the public was fine with the bylaw as was presented at an open house, Mary Lou Davis-Eckmeier moved to amend the definition so that the buffer would be 150m, stating that it behoves council to err on the side of safety.
Mayor Ivan Brooker was sceptical of such a need, noting that Health Canada has a very restrictive application process and that the facilities have stringent security rules.
Councillor Ross Watson added that people seem to be reluctant about a medical cannabis facility more on the basis of it being marijuana that anything else, which raised the question of whether this set a precedent when it comes to facilities that use dangerous toxic substances or anything that people might simply deem to be dangerous. As far as he could tell, the 150m buffer was meant to say no to any such facility without actually saying no.
In the end, councillors Jeff Toews, Gaynor Levisky, Morgan Nagel and Davis-Eckmeier voted in favour of increasing the buffer.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Alberta: Council Adds Medical Cannabis To Land-Use Bylaw
Author: David Feil
Photo Credit: tumblr
Website: Cochrane Times
