Few residents took advantage of the chance to provide feedback on what the cannabis regulations should look like in the Town of Bonnyville.
On Wednesday, May 16, town council and administration hosted a public open house to provide information on proposed bylaws and garner feedback on the various aspects of municipal marijuana legislation.
“We’ve had from one extreme to the other. We’ve had feedback saying we should be totally open and we shouldn’t be any more restrictive then what the rules already are that the province and federal government have established,” said town CAO Mark Power. “Then, we’ve had the other extreme saying it shouldn’t be allowed at all in town. We’re getting feedback from everybody, and that’s the whole point of doing the exercise.”
Boards set up at the open house allowed attendees to get a closer look at the various buffer zones between cannabis retail outlets and schools and healthcare facilities. Residents were also able to write down their comments and concerns for council’s consideration.
However, only about a handful of people took the time to vote for which buffer zone they’d like to see implemented, and provide feedback.
“I hope there’s a lot more people that come in for the formal public hearing, so that we can get lots of feedback to make it easier of us to make that decision,” said Coun. Rene Van Brabant. “Once we pass the first reading (of the bylaws) that’s when, I hope, we’re going to find out what people are going to think.”
From those that did provide feedback, two people were in agreement of the 100-metre separation distance, one voted for a 150-metre separation, and two were in favour of 200 metres. One resident wrote that the town “should be as strict as possible – you can always decrease if necessary.” While another thought that public consumption should mirror that of alcohol.
“Personally, I would like to see them go with the AGLC’s recommendations of the 100-metre buffer zone. Just looking at the diagrams, it doesn’t leave anywhere for a cannabis store to really open if you move to the 150-metre offset or the 200-metre offset. You’re going to be putting stores in place where you’re not really going to want to have a store,” said Kyle Sargent, an MD resident who attended the open house.
Town resident Ron Cumby agreed, “There are a lot of potential spinoff businesses that can happen in the town and it can attract... My only concern is that the town make it so restrictive that people don’t want to do business in town and they’ll take their business to other communities or other areas. Then Bonnyville is going to miss out on a huge opportunity.”
Ken Wakefield, on the other hand, would like to see the retail stores steer clear of main street. While he agrees it’s important to attract new jobs, Wakefield, who lives in town, noted he doesn’t want to see the quantity of cannabis stores that Bonnyville has seen with liquor stores.
“I just don’t want too many on main street when you’re driving through. You could put them off of the main streets, 54 Ave. would be a good place.”
He added, “I would like to see the 200-metre buffer zone. Nothing around schools, hospitals, parks; nothing with the kids around.”
With the input they gathered from residents last week, town administration assembled a questionnaire for councillors to complete. Power explained that using the results from that survey, they will form the bylaws which will be presented at the next council meeting on Tuesday, May 22.
“They can debate everything that’s in there, and then we’ll schedule the public hearing to get formal, official feedback from the public. We’ll get that official feedback, and then we’ll be in the position to give second reading as amended if council wants to make some changes or they can give it second reading the way it is. Then, we just sit and wait for the federal government to pass the rules.”
When it comes to the timing of the federal legalization of marijuana, despite the date of July 1 being widely-thrown around, Power noted the only official timeline they’ve been given is that it will happen sometime in the summer.
“It’s kind of interesting because we’re not the ones making the rules. We can modify the rules, but we’re not the ones saying that it’s legal... We’re just going to try and work within that and make it work for the residents within the Town of Bonnyville.”
While their opinions on the rules may differ, residents in attendance were pleased with the way the town has handled the issue of cannabis legalization overall.
“From what I can gather so far, I’m surprised to see the town is actually looking at it with an open mind, which is nice to see,” said Cumby.
Sargent added, “I think they’re doing a really good job being proactive in finding what kind of zoning they want to use, the offsets, and things like that. They seem very open to everyone’s opinions, not just the small group on town council. That’s a thumbs up in my opinion.”
While the open house may be over, the public still has one last opportunity to have their opinions considered before the municipal rules around cannabis get passed. Wakefield encouraged his fellow residents to take the time to get informed on the matter and participate in the process.
“It’s coming anyways. I’m paying taxes, so I want to know what’s going on, especially for this. If you live in town, or even the MD too, you’ve got to know what’s going on.”
