A long-planned micro-cannabis production facility in Naramata that has been plagued by public pushback is now seeking a variance from the local government to formalize its operation. The Arawana Road property is approximately 4 hectares in size, containing an indoor cannabis facility that received a permit as a micro-grow in 2019.
The operators are seeking a Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen development variance to allow a concrete foundation for their indoor grow facility. Given the property is within the Agricultural Land Reserve, the farm use definition is key.
"Under the Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation, indoor cannabis production is considered a farm use. The regulation further lists cannabis produced in a building with a base entirely of soil as a farm use that may not be prohibited by a local government bylaw," reads an RDOS staff report that the board of directors will hear Thursday. The sticking point comes from the fact that the facility has a concrete foundation. But RDOS staff seem comfortable with granting the variance.
"The zoning bylaw's prohibition on concrete foundations in indoor cannabis production buildings is generally intended to prevent the alienation of productive agricultural lands. Allowing an existing building with a concrete foundation to be used for indoor cannabis production will not alienate productive agricultural land and will allow for the type of diversification and enhancement of farm income that the OCP seeks to encourage," the staff report reads.
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