Proposed cannabis facility is nothing to fear, firm says
Strathcona County residents concerned about industrial use of agricultural land
A planned Strathcona County medical marijuana facility will be an environmentally friendly operation with livestock, fruit trees and cannabis grown under natural light, the leader of the company said.
People living near the proposed development southeast of Josephburg say the project is in the wrong location, could attract criminals and heavy traffic, and might cause other problems. But Canadian Rockies Agricultural Inc. chief executive Aaron Barr said he thinks their concerns can be alleviated.
“A lot of these residents and neighbours feel upset, and justly so. They don’t feel involved in the process,” he said Wednesday, one day after a public meeting about the issue was held.
“(But) this is a very long design process. We’re just in the initial stages … This isn’t just a horse-and-pony show. It’s going to be a very detailed and well-thoughtout operation.”
Barr, 33, said he has a federal licence to grow 163 marijuana plants for three patients, and for the last eight years has used cannabis products to treat injuries he suffered as a pro motocross racer.
The $20-million first phase of the development includes a 9,300-square-metre greenhouse and six smaller greenhouses, two underground vaults and an administration building.
Within five years, the company intends to start growing 2.4 hectares of hemp and research new uses for the plant. Barr said Health Canada is looking at changing its regulations so fibre, roots and other hemp products could come from the same plants producing marijuana, which isn’t allowed now.
The company, owned by 13 people primarily from the Edmonton area, also plans to compost waste to grow fruit and vegetables, raise livestock, and use more renewable energy and fewer chemicals, Barr said.
His brother and sister-in-law live at the 30-hectare former elk ranch, which he said he wants to run like a family farm.
Strathcona County Coun. Paul Smith said he attended the meeting Tuesday night with at least 120 other people, most of whom weren’t happy with the proposal.
The main concern is the facility would be an industrial operation in an area zoned for agriculture, Smith said.
However, under the intensive horticulture use in which the county has classed the project, the development is allowed as long as it meets all the technical requirements and doesn’t require public input, he said.
Barr said he hopes the county will give final approval in about a month. Then the company must seek a Health Canada production licence before starting construction, which he’d like to finish in the fall of 2018.
The Sherwood Park resident isn’t surprised people are upset, but said fences, cameras and constant monitoring mean security won’t be a problem, while shuttle buses will keep traffic from the 20 or so initial employees to a minimum.
“If a large cannabis facility was going up next to my family farm, I would have concerns and questions as well … (but) we’re not this big corporation coming in,” he said.