JULY 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


5 Debate over cannabis underscores challenges


Province leaves decision-making to municipalities Doing what’s best for


agriculture has never been easy for local governments but in BC, the Agricultural Land Reserve adds greater


Viewpoint by Myrna Stark Leader


complexity to municipal bylaw and policy decisions. An amendment to


provincial regulations governing the ALR this past February has added to the challenges local governments face. The amendment created the Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation, which addresses issues such as secondary residences, agri- tourism and cannabis. While all are hot topics, the


new regulation included a wording change with respect to cannabis operations that caught municipalities off- guard. A provincial order in council last July designated lawful cannabis production as a farm use if it occurred under specific conditions – namely, in soil or in a structure with a base entirely of soil, one that pre-existed the order, or one under construction for the purposes of crop production. But the wording of the


regulation created in February changes the emphasis to say municipalities can’t prohibit cannabis lawfully produced in fields, soil-based structures or any structure designated for crop production prior to the July 2018 order in council. “This regulatory change clarifies that all forms [my emphasis] of cannabis production are a ‘farm use,’” notes an information bulletin from the Agricultural Land Commission (theoretically reversing the restrictions in last July’s OIC). “However, the ALR Use Regulation specifically allows local governments to prohibit


cannabis production in certain forms.” The new regulation now places the onus on municipalities to regulate cannabis production within the ALR, similar to what the province previously did with house sizes (an issue the February


regulatory amendments also addressed). Kelowna’s Agricultural


Advisory Committee met in mid-June to determine what comes next. The committee provides recommendations that help inform civic policy decisions. Kelowna city staff put


forward three options for regulating cannabis production and related uses in the ALR.


The first was no


restrictions. This would leave the barn door wide open to commercial cannabis growers, except for compliance with existing agriculture policies in the city’s zoning bylaws, such as a minimum 60-metre setback from a neighbouring residential property to mitigate issues such as smell and light.


The second option would


restrict cannabis production in the ALR to field systems, structures with a base entirely of soil or pre-existing structures, per the original OIC from last summer. The third option would


allow cannabis production on a case-by-case basis. Proposals would be assessed on several factors, including servicing requirements, waste disposal and others. Cannabis may be approved as a farm use in the ALR, but it's not being treated like any other crop. After all, you don't have to ask the city to pull out your apples and plant grapes, but you will have to apply to the city to grow cannabis. Current policy under the


Kelowna Official Community Plan requires protecting


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agricultural land from development through strong policies, stewardship of natural resources and the environment for food production, awareness of local agriculture and access to local food and fostering and sustaining farm businesses and farmland. Complicating matters for


Kelowna is the fact that it is one of four municipalities required to submit bylaws governing agriculture to the province’s agriculture minister for approval. Watching agricultural


advisory committee members reach their final position illustrated how society is continually having to weigh options and then make decisions that impact the future. Yet beside myself, just two others viewed the discussion. In the end, the committee


is recommending option three, but not before thoroughly discussing many sides of the matter before them – doing what is best for farmers, for agriculture, for land and for economic development. While committee members recognize ALR landowners don’t need more regulation, a case-by-case approval process seemed like the best way to consider individual submissions in context. The committee raised


many good points in its discussion. One member


suggested limiting the size of cannabis facilities to try and encourage small-scale production and discourage large, well-heeled growers. Another wanted to restrict cannabis to soil-based systems to prevent structures of any type being built on land that might be required for food production in the future. Yet the cannabis industry is


still evolving. One committee member said if cannabis producers failed, their buildings could be opportunities for other producers to acquire them at bargain prices. I don’t advocate for or against cannabis production but I wonder how producers at large feel about limiting the ability to produce a crop


that isn’t food but could provide an alternative revenue stream within the ALR. Thousands of acres of ALR land has been shifted into wine grapes, which we don’t eat. While vineyard acreage could be quickly switched to food production, it’s equally true that, in the future, more food may be produced in warehouse-type structures. With crop production and the technologies it employs always changing, the debate over cannabis shows that there are no easy answers in agriculture. Myrna Stark Leader is a


regular contributor to Country Life in BC and the agriculture specialist with the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission.


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