Councillors reject giant pot facility

The Green Organic Dutchman says it will appeal to tribunal

City council has rejected a major greenhouse expansion request from one of Canada’s fastestgrowing medical marijuana companies — and sparked an inevitable legal appeal.

Councillors voted 9-4 against a city planner-supported application by The Green Organic Dutchman to build a 150,000square-foot greenhouse on Jerseyville Road in Ancaster, spurring a smattering of applause from a small group of area residents in the council chambers.

The city reconfirmed a controversial maximum size limit of 24,000 square feet for medical pot facilities just weeks ago, a point made by several councillors who opposed the exception request.

Local director Ian Wilms said the grower will be “proceeding directly” to a tribunal appeal via the new Local Planning Appeal Tribunal. But that process could take months, if not a year or more.

“We are disappointed,” said Wilms, who called the decision “political.” But he expressed confidence the company would win its appeal, noting it has the support of city planning staff as well as the Hamilton agricultural community.

He said the company still has permission to move ahead immediately with a 24,000-square-foot growing and research facility at the Ancaster site, as well as an 800,000-square-foot building in Quebec.

The cannabis producer would become one of the largest in Canada if both its Quebec and Ontario expansions come to fruition. It recently told shareholders it expected its 150,000-square-foot Hamilton facility to open in the first quarter of 2019.

Many councillors admitted to being conflicted about the decision, especially after a pitch for support from the ward councillor — and only farmer on council — Rob Pasuta.

“Cannabis is a crop,” said the Flamborough councillor, who noted the city already allows larger greenhouses for all other farming crops, including cucumbers and flowers.

Councillors on both sides of the debate also said the city should be braced for a tough fight.

Coun. Maria Pearson, who voted for the expansion request, noted council will have to hire outside lawyers to fight the appeal because the city’s own staff supported the application.

Coun. Jason Farr also suggested it was likely the city could lose.

But the downtown councillor, nonetheless, said he would “stick to” the late-June decision by council to maintain a 24,000square-foot maximum size for rural pot facilities, reasoning that policy took into consideration all the same issues and community concerns.

The decision came on the same day British Columbia gave municipalities the right to regulate or even prohibit bunker-style pot production buildings on certain agricultural lands.

Hamilton’s maximum size for marijuana buildings was also based, in part, on concerns about bunker-style or concrete buildings. The Green Organic Dutchman, however, has said its facility would be a greenhouse.