Norfolk moves to control odours from marijuana grow ops

Simcoereformer.ca
Jan. 10, 2018
By Monte Sonneberg

Norfolk County has opted for a low-key approach to the regulation of marijuana grow operations.

Producers won't have to apply for a zoning amendment or defend their applications at Norfolk council.

However, they will have to meet planning standards and ensure that odours from their operations don't impact the surrounding neighbourhood.

This is the route Norfolk council chose Tuesday after a discussion of marijuana and its potentially negative impact on surrounding properties.

Mayor Charlie Luke says the situation in Norfolk is like "the wild, wild west." Grow operations are multiplying and will become more numerous once recreational marijuana is legalized this summer.

Luke said rules are needed to ensure these operations don't interfere with residents' rights to enjoy their property undisturbed.

"I personally think there's a place in Norfolk County for the responsible production of marijuana," Luke said. "This is not an issue about marijuana. This is to address those people who don't care about the house next door and the kids who live in it."

Health Canada had a firm grip on marijuana production until 2016. That's when a federal court ruled that production restrictions in place violated medicinal users' access rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

Since this ruling, licensed medicinal users have had the right to grow their own marijuana, grow marijuana for themselves and other certified users, or delegate their production to a third party.

This production has proliferated with little federal or provincial oversight. Some third-party facilities house thousands of plants. As an example, Health Canada allows medicinal users who need 50 grams of dried leaf a day to have 250 plants under tillage at any given moment.

This is a problem because marijuana plants give off a pungent odour. Some households have complained they can't enjoy their backyards or sleep at night due to the smell. Some have complained that the smell makes them ill.

There are also noise issues related to ventilation equipment and light pollution at night.

"There is very little regulation from the province and the feds," says Langton Coun. Roger Geysens.

"They have a role to play here. My problem is children having to inhale the smell of this marijuana. If the province and the federal government will not deal with this, we'll have to."

The measures adopted this week will be the subject of an open house in February and a public meeting under the Planning Act in March.

Final rules could include a 150-metre buffer between greenhouses producing marijuana and sensitive land-uses nearby. The buffer requirement could be higher if production is conducted outside.

Odour-mitigation measures could include mandatory charcoal filtration systems on greenhouses to capture the smell before it escapes into the surrounding neighbourhood.

Norfolk's planning department charges $2,010 for a site-plan review. The user fee is based on the principle that developers and not taxpayers should pay the full cost of vetting their projects.