The Gibsons planning and development committee has voted to put an application to build a cannabis production facility on Venture Way on hold for now.
The owners of 1037 Venture Way, a lot currently being used to store shipping containers, want to establish a Health Canada licensed facility.
The Town’s zoning bylaws list cannabis production or sale as a prohibited use in all zones, which means anyone wanting to set up as a grower or retailer needs to apply for a spot zoning.
The Town is also working on a cannabis policy, which is still at the draft stage, and the draft suggests the property on Venture Way is in the area where spot zoning for cannabis production could be considered.
Mayor Bill Beamish said he had concerns about moving the application forward while the policy is still in the draft stage.
“We’ve already done that in the past and we’ve ended up perhaps with a mistake in the community, moving ahead of the policy… My view is we should complete the policy before we start implementing it,” he said.
Others on the committee said their concern with the application was that it didn’t include enough information. Coun. David Croal said the big piece of information that was lacking was a design for the building.
“I would have expected to have seen a proposal for a building that was going to house this project, rather than a project that ultimately is going to have a building. It seems we’re putting the cart before the horse.”
Committee member Scott Keck said that while he feels the location is right for cannabis production, “it makes sense to have more information… There’s going to be a new building and who knows what that’s going to look like.”
The committee voted to recommend consideration of the application, and any similar applications that come forward, wait until the policy has been passed by council.
Sunshine Coast Youth Council
Gibsons youth councillor Eilis Mackenzie told council April 7 that work is moving forward to set up a Sunshine Coast Youth Council.
Mackenzie and her alternate, Gravity Guignard, presented the idea at an April 6 intergovernmental meeting that also included MP Patrick Weiler and MLA Nicholas Simons.
“It received quite a bit of support from the surrounding communities, so we’re really excited to take the next steps to making that happen,” said Mackenzie, who added a document would be going out to the local governments in the next week or so with more details on what the youth council might look like and how it would work, with the goal of having it up and running in September.
Mayor Bill Beamish said he was encouraged by the support, especially from Simons and Weiler. “I think it could be a very valuable asset,” he said. “I know the other communities have been looking for ways to involve youth in their governance and I think this a good opportunity to do that.”
The only other governing body on the Sunshine Coast with a youth representative right now is the School District No. 46 board, which has had student trustees since 2013.
