Correspondence: Corporation of Delta Re: Medical Marihuana Facilities
Letter from Mayor Lois Jackson of Delta to the Minister of Agriculture regarding concerns about the impact of marihuana facilities on agricultural land.
Letter to the Minister of Agriculture
September 9, 2014
The Honourable Norm Letnick Minister of Agriculture PO Box 9043, Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9E2
Dear Minister,
Re: Medical Marihuana Facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve
Please find attached a copy of a recent letter from Mr. George V. Harvie, Chief Administrative Officer for The Corporation of Delta, to your Deputy Minister Mr. Derek Sturko.
As outlined in the correspondence, The Corporation of Delta continues to have very serious concerns regarding the impacts of proposed medical marihuana facilities on agricultural lands, the current lack of Provincial guidelines for this proposed new industry, and the possibility that producers will more readily look to locate facilities in Delta as more and more other municipalities adopt bylaws to prohibit this activity.
I would be grateful for any assistance you may be able to offer toward providing a timely reply to Mr. Harvie's letter.
Yours truly,
Lois E. Jackson Mayor
Attachment
cc:
- The Honourable Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia
- The Honourable Terry Lake, Minister of Health
- Scott Hamilton, MLA, Delta-North
- Vicki Huntington, MLA, Delta-South
- All British Columbia Municipalities
- Delta Council
- George V. Harvie, Chief Administrative Officer
- Jeff Day, P.Eng., Director of Community Planning and Development
Letter to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture
September 9, 2014
Mr. Derek Sturko Deputy Minister of Agriculture PO Box 9120, Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9B4
Dear Mr. Sturko,
Re: Medical Marihuana Facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve
On February 28, 2014, Her Worship Mayor Lois E. Jackson wrote to the Provincial Minister of Agriculture seeking approval of Delta Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 7314 to prohibit medical marihuana production facilities and medical marihuana research and development facilities on lands within the Agricultural Land Reserve in Delta. In that letter, Mayor Jackson outlined a number of concerns and uncertainties pertaining to medical marihuana facilities and their impacts on traditional agricultural activities. Delta Council had hoped to treat medical marihuana facilities on agricultural land in the same manner as in other areas of the Municipality; that is, to consider these facilities on a case-by-case basis rather than permitting them outright. We were disappointed to receive on June 24, 2014 a response from Minister Letnick informing us that he is not approving Delta's bylaw.
As noted in Minister Letnick's letter, Ministry staff will work with local governments and others to develop a Minister's Bylaw Standard specific to the production of medical marihuana in the Agricultural Land Reserve. My staff have been informed that a Minister's Bylaw Standard on this topic may possibly be available as early as this month. We hope that the Minister's Bylaw Standard will address the concerns previously expressed by Delta regarding the locations, scale and footprint of such facilities, site servicing, security, and the potential longer-term impacts on the availability of land for food production and soil-based farming.
Further, we hope that the Minister's Bylaw Standard will apply equally across local governments that have Agricultural Land Reserve lands. Although the Minister has chosen to not approve Delta's proposed bylaw we are aware of other municipalities where bylaws have been adopted that explicitly or effectively prohibit medical marihuana operations in the Agricultural Land Reserve. We believe this has put Delta at a disadvantage in dealing with the growing level of interest from the medical marihuana industry particularly when combined with the current lack of guidelines for regulating this use in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
In light of the anticipated timeline for release of the Minister's Bylaw Standard, Delta will be putting any new applications for medical marihuana facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve on hold so as to avoid approving an application that may be in conflict with the pending Provincial guidelines and criteria. Delta would be pleased to have our staff participate in the development of the Minister's Bylaw Standard should such opportunities be available.
Yours truly,
George V. Harvie Chief Administrative Officer
cc:
- The Honourable Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia
- The Honourable Terry Lake, Minister of Health, Province of BC
- Scott Hamilton, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Delta-North
- Vicki Huntington, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Delta-South
- All British Columbia Municipalities
- Mayor Lois E. Jackson
- Delta Council
- Jeff Day, P.Eng., Director of Community Planning and Development