Highlands East council was presented with a by-law to address medical marijuana facilities. After a long consultation and research process, planner Chris Jones presented council with a definition and criteria for a medical marijuana facility.
The criteria was made up of these points:
- Minimum lot area shall be 50 acres
- Minimum separation between a medical marijuana facility and any existing residential dwelling shall be 1,000 meters
- Minimum setback from the medical marijuana facility and any lot line, private road or easement shall be 50 metres
- The lot shall abut a County Road or Provincial Highway
- The maximum height of a medical marijuana facility shall be 5.5 metres.
- The maximum floor area of a medical marijuana facility shall be 2,500 sq. ft
Councilors weren’t satisfied with the criteria, saying the lot size is too large and didn’t apply to any lots in the municipality. Council directed Jones to come back to council with changes to criteria.
If the changes aren’t ready by the next council meeting, a vote will be made to include a definition in the by-law and add the criteria at a later date.