About 30 residents attended an open house in council chambers regarding proposed changes to Mountain View County’s municipal development plan (MDP) and the land use bylaw (LUB), including provisions relating to cannabis production and sale.
The first of two open houses being held this month, the two-hour April 10 event saw staff outline the proposed changes.
Surveys seeking public input and comments were distributed during the open house.
In March council deferred a decision on the proposed changes to allow for the gathering of feedback during the open houses.
The proposed amendments to land use bylaw No. 15/15 regarding cannabis include the following:
- Add a definition for "Cannabis Production Facility” that will regulate federal and/or provincial licensed facilities for growing and processing of cannabis and related products.
- “Cannabis Production Facility” will be added as a discretionary use in the industrial and airport districts.
- Add specific use regulations for “Cannabis Production Facility.”
- Add a definition for “Cannabis Retail Sales.”
- The use “Cannabis Retail Sales” will be added as a discretionary use in the industrial and local commercial districts.
- Add specific use regulations and ensure that existing definitions of “commercial retail services, major” and “commercial retail services, minor” exclude “Cannabis Retail Sales.”
A number of other proposed amendments are also being proposed, including adding within the parks and recreation district shipping containers (Sea Cans) as a permitted use requiring a development permit, and adding within the parks and conservation district shipping containers on common property as a discretionary use requiring a development permit.
Another amendment would change the definition of dwelling, single detached, to remove the minimum dwelling size within the definition of “Dwelling, Single Detached” as minimum square footage is included in the district regulations.
Another change would amend the definition of “mineral resource extraction and processing” to remove the wording “timber” to provide clarification that timber removal/harvesting falls under the definition of “tree clearing.”
Another amendment would create a new exemption for oil and gas related borrow pits and Alberta Transportation borrow pits from requiring a development permit.
“Oil and gas related borrow pits are regulated through the Alberta Energy Regulator, therefore, the proposed changes would allow for borrow pits associated with oil and gas facilities to be exempt from requiring a development permit,” administration said in an information bulletin.
“Recognizing that projects associated with provincial road projects are done to enhance provincial services to all road users, the proposed changes would allow borrow pits for provincial road projects to be exempt from requiring a development permit.”
Regarding business, contractors, administration is recommending the removal of “typical use” within the business definitions.
“This will provide for a broader range of businesses to be considered by the approving authority that they are meeting the criteria set out in Section 10.5 of the land use bylaw,” administration said.
The open house also included information on proposed new environmentally significant area mapping.
A second open house regarding the MDP and the LUB amendments is scheduled to take place at the Sundre Legion on April 24.
