At tomorrow’s council meeting a bylaw around legal marijuana grow facilities will inch closer to becoming reality.

Business license inspector Dave Jones says the proposed bylaw would require legal marijuana grows to be 150 metres away from schools, daycares, community centres, parks, and playgrounds.

This is slightly different than the 100 metre buffer required for retail cannabis businesses.

“This will be a stand alone quite likely in an industrial site. You would probably never know it was a production facility out there. It is not an oranges to oranges comparison. However we do have the proximity because we do know from the research that potentially that there could be some impact maybe form some smells or odours. We want to ensure that those production facilities are far enough way from these other locations it wouldn’t impact those other property uses.”

Jones says the proposed bylaw mandates marijuana grow operations will be restricted to industrial, heavy industrial, or agricultural land.

“This is the second and third reading this meeting. After that passes then it is going to go to a public hearing. It will be interesting to hear from the public when you go to a public hearing whether there is any concerns raised. At this point in time we are treating cannabis production whether it is micro-grow or a large grow at this point in time it is all the same.”

He says medical marijuana growers, governed by federal rules, are restricted to industrial land while retail cannabis, provincial jurisdiction, will be in agricultural lands.