Door open for rural grow ops
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At Hamilton city hall today, the planning committee left the door open for medical marijuana growers to set up in rural areas, at least for now. Members voted today for staff to review proposed size limits for grow ops.
They’re also looking for more public input. Medical marijuana companies that applied for permits before by-law changes were proposed say they’ve already made a substantial investment based the current rules. They’ll be allowed to proceed with their plans. But in the last year, the city proposed changes to rural zoning that would limit medical marijuana buildings to two thousand square meters. Councillors say they want to strike a balance between protecting rural residents and encouraging development in the city.
Hamilton City Councillor Robert Pasuta: “People do get concerned about medical marijuana because of the criminal element. That’s some of the chatter that’s been going on. But it’s new business, it’s a legal operation, it’s administered by Health Canada so there’s advantages to it — in one way as far as jobs, and moving forward to working with the medical fields.”
Today’s was the last planning meeting of this term, meaning the final decision will fall to the councillors elected on October 27th.
