Employment lands might not go to pot – at least for a year

May 30, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Significant growth in Canada’s medical marijuana industry has given Aurora Council some food for thought this week as they discuss possible locations and prohibitions for legal medical marijuana grow ops.

Councillors are due to discuss a recommendation this week to prohibit the use of Aurora’s employment lands for medical marijuana facilities for at least one year as the Town scopes out the best possible locations for any future applicants that might come forward.

“The location for Marihuana for Medical Production Facilities (MMPFs) in industrial zones has been a challenge for numerous municipalities since the new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations came into effect,” said Marco Ramunno, Aurora’s Director of Planning, in a report before Council this week. “Several municipalities have passed zoning bylaw amendments to regulate MMPFs by restricting them to certain zones and requiring appropriate setbacks to residential zones or sensitive areas.”

The Planning Act allows municipalities like Aurora to restrict lands for up to a year for a complete study to be done. A potential sticking point, however, could come with this restriction in the future. If Council passes a bylaw restricting this use, they would then be prohibited from putting barriers on the use of the employment lands for any other purposes for up to three years.