CommunityCouncilTop Story

Paradise pot plant gets approval to roll

By Chris Lewis | Aug. 20, 2020

A cannabis production facility has been deemed good to grow by Paradise council.

The application for the business was first presented in 2018.

In presenting the planning and protective services committee report, planning director Alton Glenn outlined the proponent’s plans and recommended approval.

The application aims to see the interior of the building at 1956 Topsail Road renovated to change it and remove any remnants of the previous occupancy. The building has been used for a number of industrial purposes in the past, including at one point, the manufacture of licence plates.

Glenn said the facility would, in its early stages, create approximately 10 new jobs, with that number increasing to possibly 30 employees as production picks up and the facility’s business ramps up.

Councillor Patrick Martin noted that back when the application for this business first came to council’s attention, it was met by some concern from residents in a nearby subdivision. At a public meeting held two years ago, a number of residents raised worries about the smell of marijuana coming from the plant, the risk of the product attracting burglers, as well as increased traffic and activity on that part of Topsail Hill.

Martin said he wanted to make sure the concerns have been addressed, and that questions posed by residents in the past have been answered.

“We did have quite an extensive public consultation on this, with a well-attended meeting” Glenn said, adding that the concerns brought up in that public consultation were likely addressed at the time.

Councillor Allan English, too, had questions about the facility; namely, whether or not a physical barrier would be erected between the facility and adjacent homes.

To this, Glenn stated there was no barrier as such, but there is a requirement in place for a landscaping plan to be submitted by the company, to be later approved by council as a condition of the application.

“The landscape plan could in fact deal with fencing as well,” Glenn said.

Ultimately, the motion to approve the application was carried unanimously by council.

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