In the town’s virtual council meeting on Tuesday night, a draft Nuisance By-law was presented to council, regulating odour from both existing and future cannabis cultivation operations in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
With the increase in cannabis cultivation, there has been an uptick in complaints from residents and farmers - complaints that have included structures operating without a permit, the construction of greenhouses on the Holland Marsh’s unique soils, storage of materials on roadways, drainage impacts, increasing criminal activity, and the biggest issue of all, the smell of the crop itself.
However, the by-law will not address complaints from residents about the odours from pot-smoking neighbours, council was told
“This is more for the growing operations in the Holland Marsh and some of the other areas that have had neighbours upset with the odours and disruption in their lives,” noted Mayor Rob Keffer.
Because federal licensing guidelines don't address issues like odour, and so far, cannabis has not been included in the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board's definition of "normal farm practices," the town is able to regulate aspects of the cultivation through their own measures, council was told.
"We think we have the legal authority," said Manager of Enforcement Brent Lee, presenting a draft by-law that he said was "appropriate and can be defended if challenged."
It's one of a series of measures being taken, as the town attempts to control the proliferation of cannabis cultivation. The municipality is also looking at amending its zoning bylaw, and has already passed an interim control by-law for cannabis micro-cultivation, and a by-law requiring site plan control for greenhouse operations.
The zoning by-law amendment now under consideration will prohibit all cannabis growing operations in the specialty crop zone of the Holland Marsh, but it won't be retroactive.
The nuisance by-law presented on Tuesday night would apply to all existing and new operations - both licensed and unlicensed.
The Nuisance By-law states that a Cannabis Cultivation Facility cannot cause an Adverse Effect to any property - which includes impairment of the quality of the natural environment, injury or damage to property, or an "adverse effect on the health of any person."
The by-law would establish an odour strength measure, and prohibit a Cannabis Cultivation Facility from exceeding a certain threshold of Odour Units at the property line, or measured at any 'sensitive use' (including schools, day cares, playgrounds, sporting venues and parks, places of worship "or any other place where people regularly gather or sleep").
Cannabis operations will also need to install proper air filtration systems to prevent odours escaping to the outdoors, and develop an odour mitigation plan..
As for enforcing the by-law, staff would be able to take odour strength samples to verify compliance, both at the subject property and at any nearby Sensitive Uses.
If the odour strength surpasses the threshhold limits, the By-law officer will contact the property owner, advise of the infraction, and help develop a remediation plan. tf the infraction isn't corrected "in a reasonable amount of time," legal action may be taken.
Enforcement will also be asking the Ministry of the Attorney General for set fines, in case of non-compliance.
Lee warned that the by-law won't immediately solve the problem. How quickly odour issues can be addressed witll depend "on the level of co-operation received from Cannabis Cultivation Facilities," the staff report noted - warning that court cases may drag on.
Coun. Peter Dykie said he was pleased to see the by-law come forward, noting that by the time fall harvest comes around, there will be an increase in odour complaints.
“This smell has a major impact, affecting farmers and residents. We really need to stay on top of this,” Dykie said, asking how the odour readings would be carried out, and whether the town would need to purchase any specialized equipment.
Lee said that there is instrumentation the town is able to acquire for the readings, but for now they have partnered with an expert odour consultant, experienced in developing and enforcing by-laws relating to cannabis odour, who will work with staff to carry out the measurements and provide reports.
“As complaints come forward it will be a mix of working with the consultant for best practices, and once comfortable we will take over and conduct investigations on our own,” Lee said.
Coun. Ron Orr asked if the town will be notifying growing operations of the new by-law, "to be proactive.”
Lee said that the town has been working with King Twp. “trying to harmonize regulations so that there is consistency in rules and regulations,” but that there has been nothing formally done yet to notify cannabis growing operations.
“That opportunity will be provided to producers through its due course, and hopefully voluntary compliance is achieved,” he said, noting that the goal of the presentation was to align the expectations of council with what the by-law can accomplish.
Coun. Gary Baynes asked how soon the by-law could be enacted.
It can move forward quickly, Lee said. "We can publicize where any concerns can be forwarded and start the investigation. It shouldn’t be a long delay,” he said.
He noted the town is trying to take a holistic approach to the problem. "Odour is such a subjective thing. Everyone's personal threshold is different,” Lee said. "We do want to do this right, take a comprehensive approach."
"It's extra work for sure, but I think our residents are clamouring for it," said Mayor Rob Keffer. “This will certainly help to alleviate the issues moving forward.”
Council voted unanimously to enact the by-law.
Prior to the presentation of the Nuisasnce By-law, council had heard a deputation from a Bradford resident and his 13-year-old daughter, regarding the obnoxious odour from their neighbour's cannabis use.
They told council the neighbour smokes up to 120 'joints' a week, which is affecting their family's quality of life.
"The cannabis he smokes is not regular pot," said the resident. "It is 'skunk', which contains more THC, which produces a terrible smell and headaches for my family."
The daugter noted that both she and her 10-year-old brother suffer from asthma, and the smoke from their neighbour has caused them stress, anxiety - and at one point, triggered an asthma attack that sent her brother to hospital.
"We get headaches. We can’t even open our windows for fresh air. How is that fair?" she said, asking that users be required to smoke indoors "when kids are present within 100'."
They requested that a 'Public Harm through Marijuana Use' by-law be put in place to help protect residents from the odours relating to personal cannabis consumption.
At that point, Deputy Mayor James Leduc asked Lee if the new Nuisance By-law would apply to their situation.
He was told that the by-law was only directed at cannabis cultivation, "not the actual consumption at this point." Although Enforcement had originally concluded that they could not regulate Cannabis use on private property, Lee suggested, "We will look into that further and get back to council"
