Abstract
When marijuana is legalized in Canada there will be land-use planning implications for municipalities. Different levels of government have different jurisdictional responsibilities regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana. One of the jurisdictional responsibilities of municipalities is land use planning and zoning. Two new land uses will be introduced to municipalities through the legalization of marijuana: recreational marijuana production facilities and recreational marijuana retail stores. For municipalities to control for the location of these uses, the land use legislation they enact must be able to co-exist with federal and provincial/territorial legislation and not result in any operational conflicts. This research paper provides a set of best practices to municipalities across Canada for how they should regulate these uses in their land use legislation. KEY WORDS: recreational marijuana legalization; marijuana retail stores; marijuana production facilities; land use planning; Canada.
Highlights
Bill C-45, The Cannabis Act, was introduced in the House of Commons on April 13, 2017 to create “a strict framework for controlling the production, distribution, sale, import, export and possession of cannabis in Canada” ( Department of Justice, 2017)
Examining the land use tools that have been used in places where recreational marijuana is already legalized and regulations that have been used for medical marijuana purposes is a good starting place for beginning to understand the implications that the legalization of recreational marijuana will have on land use planning for municipalities in Canada
As recreational marijuana production facilities are licensed by the Federal Government, municipal land use legislation enacted to control the location of these uses can not result in any operational conflicts with Federal legislation
Summary
This report intends to investigate the potential impacts this legislation will have on land use planning and provide a set of recommendations and best practices to guide municipal decision makers and planners across Canada for how to best regulate recreational marijuana. Until Royal Assent is given, federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal governments will be releasing additional legislation and regulations associated with marijuana legalization for matters that fall under their respective jurisdictions. Municipal governments will have responsibility over matters such as public consumption and land use planning and zoning. By the time recreational marijuana is legalized, it is recommended that municipalities have proper policies and regulations in place for matters that fall under their jurisdiction, including land use planning and zoning. Potential impacts and matters that may need to be addressed in the land use planning legislation include: possible new uses for land associated with growing, packaging, buying, and using marijuana; local zoning definitions for these new uses; distance restrictions from other uses; whether to limit the number of marijuana facilities within a certain area; building and business permit considerations; the relationship with agricultural policies; how to manage for nuisances and environmental externalities; and approaches to other restrictions, such as moratorium
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