Town discusses preparations for cannabis sales

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

As the Senate of Canada prepares to hold a final vote on June 7 for the legalization of marijuana, Strathmore’s local government found itself in a lurch when discussions began surrounding municipal management of cannabis, longing for public input, dealing with a lack of general information and having the regulatory responsibility dropped in their lap.
Senators are scheduled to vote on Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act (introduced in the House of Commons on April 13, 2017), in early June. The bill would allow adults to legally possess, purchase, grow and consume marijuana.
Town of Strathmore administration presented council with a report last week that outlined the federal and provincial government roles, Alberta Health Services concerns, and opportunities for municipal participation and regulations. This includes the consideration for separation distances, and the treatment of cannabis stores as a separate and specific use in the land use bylaw.
Councillors expressed disappointment at the timing of the information and the absence of public information collected from Strathmore citizens – the information presented was largely based on Calgary’s survey results, findings and actions.
“It’s very concerning for me because I raised this issue 18 months ago with administration, saying this is coming (and) we need to get ready for this; it’s a little late now because as you know it’s just around the corner,” said Councillor Bob Sobol. “It would’ve been really helpful for us as a council to have learned what our constituent’s views on this are. I think the most important thing to remember is that we’re not the city of Calgary, we’re a completely different entity. Our people are living here rather than Calgary for reasons, and I don’t think we can forget about that.”
Sobol’s feelings were echoed by Councillor Lorraine Bauer, who said she’s heard concerns from people living within the community who say the issue is not just impacting their retail business but affects them on their properties and in their homes.
Administration suggested allowing cannabis stores as a discretionary use in most commercial districts and the light industrial district, together with separation distances – such as a proposed distance of 100 metres – from other cannabis stores to prevent clustering, or 150 metres from the property line of a public school site.
Council was also informed that until recently a lack of information – such as the provincial decision to institute separation distances – left administration in the dark and made it difficult to comprise the questions necessary and appropriate to the situation.
“This is an extremely complex issue, and the learning from Washington State and Colorado when they came open was to proceed very cautiously, do not rush with regulations quickly,” said James Thackray, chief administrative officer with the Town of Strathmore.
“We realize the (federal government) has come through and the provinces have come through, but I don’t have confidence that they’ve really thought through what this is. And this is one of the reasons they’ve said ‘well local government you deal with it and you go and do the regulation and just figure it out.’ Well thanks, guys.”
Thackray also agreed with council on the importance of collecting public input, and suggested a public forum next month.
The land use bylaw already allows licensed medical marijuana production facilities as a discretionary use in the M1 Light Industrial District, where one facility has been approved to date in Strathmore.
The Cannabis Act states an individual 18 years of ag or older may possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis, and may sell or distribute cannabis if the individual is authorized to sell cannabis under a provincial act that contains the legislative measures that disallow the sale of the substance to minors, allow the sale by authorized persons and address related administrative matters.
“The recommendation is that we define cannabis retail as a separate use, and we should also probably do something about cannabis counselling; and make it clear that growing it outside a designated facility of your home is not allowed under the bylaw,” said Werner Fischer, director of planning and development with the Town of Strathmore.
“We’re getting a fair amount of pressure to allow it in industrial bays or commercial buildings because the landlord or tenant might not agree with it. That would currently be contrary to the legislation anyway, but I think it would be supportive to our staff if they said, ‘well we made a conscience and deliberate decision on it that’s in alignment with the federal and provincial legislation.’”
Councillor Jason Montgomery was concerned with overregulation and additional costs, while Councillor Melanie Corbiell suggested including a few questions about the topic in the citizen survey.
Mayor Pat Fule said according to information he received during a mayor caucus last month, municipalities hands are tied.
“Municipalities have no opportunities to opt out of this, we all have to go along with it,” said Fule. “What was told to us was there are three ways we can approach this as municipalities. We can limit the hours of operation, we can look at business license charges and we can also look at setbacks or locations of the retail stores. That being said, they told us that we can’t do anything that can be seen as punitive or unfair.”
The risk of contamination through inhalation was also a concern during the committee of the whole meeting on April 11.
The information was only presented for consideration and discussion among council. Administration said they would look into adding questions on the citizens survey while also working on gathering public opinions and feedback.