Despite Mountain View County officials saying there is no going back on a decision to grant a building permit related to a proposed medical marijuana production facility north of Cremona, opponents continue to call for the project to be stopped.
Mary Thompson, who has property near the proposed site, says she hopes the provincial government will intervene in light of resident concerns.
"I don't know exactly where we are going from here,î said Thompson. "It is a case of getting some answers from the provincial government. There haven't been answers on water issues and that's provincial and that hasn't been done yet.
"There is a direct concern about how it went in and that it's in the wrong place.î
Residents are awaiting word back from an Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development representative (Todd Aasen) who attended the Feb. 4 meeting (in Cremona), she said.
"He said he had to look into it more,î she said. "The fellow who came down said he wanted a chance to check into it more.î
Releaf Inc. is proposing the opening of a medical marijuana production greenhouse under Health Canada licence. The marijuana would be used by cancer patients and others.
The exact location of the facility, which is already under construction, is not being revealed for security reasons.
While he declined to be interviewed for this story, Dale Lesack, director with Releaf, did provide the following comment:
"We are very happy with the outcome of the (Feb. 4) information session. Support from the community members and the Town of Cremona is very positive. Myself and Releaf Inc. look forward to forging a mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come.î
It is not immediately known whether the facility has been given Health Canada approval. Lesack did not return a call seeking comment on that.
Mountain View County issued a building permit for an agricultural production facility at the site on Oct. 7.
There have been two public meetings held in Cremona to discuss the proposed facility, the most recent on Feb. 4.
Following that meeting Mountain View County issued a media release, which included the following comment from Division 7 councillor Al Kemmere:
"We understand the frustration of the residents, but we can't unwind the process in which the developer and the county followed the rules of the day explicitly. This is a new issue that many municipalities, including Mountain View County, are having to react to on the fly.î
The county is currently considering amendments to its land use bylaw, including changes specifically related to future medical marijuana production facilities.
That amendment would require future applications for ëhorticultural use ñ medicinal' to be located in areas zoned industrial district.
The amendments will be the subject of a public hearing in council chambers on Feb. 26.
"We hope that the public hearing process will reveal whether this is the direction our residents want to go,î said Kemmere.
