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Cannabis bylaws high on city’s priority list

Apr 17, 2018 | 4:38 PM

The City of Grande Prairie is starting to look at how marijuana will fit into the community once it becomes legalized this summer. 

City Administration is working on amendments to four bylaws in relation to cannabis with one dealing with where a business can pop up shop and where they couldn’t. A proposed amendment to the Land Use Bylaw would have a cannabis retail store at least 150 metres away from an elementary school, 300 metres from a high school, 100 metres from a provincial health care facility, 100 metres from addiction treatment facilities, and 10 metres away from liquor stores. 

Although children will not be allowed inside these types of stores, even with parental supervision, Councillor Eunice Friesen was concerned about the public’s reaction to the distance from the schools with younger kids attending. 

“There is a rationale behind (having those distances) and it does make sense, but it isn’t immediately apparent. My concern is there will be a knee-jerk reaction from the public saying ‘wait a minute, you are actually allowing this closer to the little kids than you are to the big kids?’ That might be a concern for some people,” said Friesen. 

During a presentation of the amendments Tuesday, the Cannabis Form and Fold Team said that the further the distances from the many elementary schools in Grande Prairie, the more limits to the number of locations available for people to start their businesses. Each location would also have to be at least 360 metres apart from one another and any stores in the Central Commercial Land Use District, also known as the downtown area, would need 180 metres between stores that are facing the same way.

Based on a recent public survey about cannabis in the community, which had 1701 people take part in, Administration is proposing that businesses have 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. as hours of operation. Of people who took the survey, 39.1 per cent were in support of those hours of operation while 32.9 per cent were in support of hours running from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. The rest were in support of hours that started at the same time but ended at midnight. 

While 24 per cent said they do not want these stores at all, the survey suggests that 63 people are interested in starting a business in cannabis retail. Once Bylaws are passed, development permits would be collected. The City has a tentative intake date set for May 23 to June 3, 2018, with each application being put into an “order received” lottery. Once receiving a permit, proposed business owners would need a license from the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC), City Business License, and a Building Permit. There are also fees involved.

Mayor Bill Given’s concerns were highlighted with bylaw amendments around which locations people would and wouldn’t be able to smoke marijuana.

As proposed, the bylaws would fall in line with cigarettes which means people couldn’t smoke weed within 10 metres of a recreation facility, public park, parade, outdoor event, or where children are playing or congregating. Given made it clear that bus stops and areas near addiction facilities should also fall under this category as places where it would be inappropriate to light up. 

One area Given zoned in on specifically was movie theatres. Although there is only one of these in the city and the rule states no smoking within 10 metres of the front entrance, Given wants to stretch that bubble to 30 metres. 

“It is an area where there tends to be a lot of public congregating. That public can be very mixed in nature. We may have families and children screening one particular movie while adults might be screening another. My intention here is just to specify an area where it wouldn’t be appropriate to be smoking cannabis in public,” said Given.

He also brought forward a motion involving no smoking within the downtown core. If passed by city council, this would include 101 Avenue and 100 Avenue between 102 Street and 98 Street. 

His reasoning was the number of community events downtown.  

“It seems like a reasonable area for us to set a community expectation that it wouldn’t be an appropriate place to consume cannabis.” 

Areas where smoking the substance it adversely affecting another person or where smoking is prohibited by a sign are also included. In the public survey, 53 per cent of people said that smoking or vaping cannabis should be banned in all public places. 

As for growing the plants in your home, Enforcement Manager Chris Manuel says they are sticking with the federal guidelines. If the Minimum Property Standards Bylaw amendments are passed as presented, people of Grande Prairie would be able to grow up to four plants per household. In order to legally do so, the home would have to pass safety codes, have security measures to keep thieves and youth out of the grow-op and receive a permit issued by the Infrastructure and Protective Services Director. Of survey respondents, 64.5 per cent said they will not be growing cannabis at their house.

Manuel anticipates smell will be the most contentious part of the legalization this summer. 

“(Pertaining to) residential properties and the potential implications that a neighbour smoking cannabis on their property might have on an opponent of this cannabis legalization piece. Cannabis odours have been a source of concern for residents for a long time,” said Manuel.

Education will be a focus for Bylaw as the public gets settled in new societal norms, but there will be criminal penalties for those who break the law under the Cannabis Act. Illegally distributing or selling marijuana could have a penalty of up to 14 years in jail, while having weed in your possession over the limit could land you up to five years behinds bars. A person who is producing cannabis beyond personal use limits could be slapped with up to 14 years. If you take marijuana across Canada’s border, you could also face up to 14 years in jail. 

Although Mayor Given wanted it to be clear that creating bylaws is an ongoing process, whatever the outcome of the amendments, the city will revisit cannabis bylaws in a year. The proposed amendments will be presented at a city council meeting on May 22 barring any major changes to the documents. 

The mayor encourages people to reach out to city councillors with their thoughts prior to the date or attend that meeting to present as a delegation.