A Port Coquitlam city committee is set tomorrow (Tuesday) to deny a rezoning bid for a medical cannabis factory.
Lucava Farms recently applied to change the use of its heavy industrial site at 1840 Broadway St. for the business.
Last week, it got a building permit from the municipality to house a new bakery in a smaller structure on the property; Lucava’s Leslie Wallace said it plans to process marijuana edibles in that building, on the south side.
In a report to the smart growth committee, chaired by Coun. Brad West, city staff say the bid for the medical pot plant is incomplete and they make five suggestions to address potential odour and security impacts.
They also cite the proximity to homes and schools — Kilmer and Mary Hill elementaries and Pitt River middle — and area businesses.
In February, School District 43’s board of education wrote to Lucava about its concern “that the odour could have a detrimental impact on our students’ focus and attention when school is in session and also during their time outdoors.”
City staff also say they’ve fielded several queries from the public about the proposal, many of them voicing fears about the pungent smell.
Monday, Wallace told The Tri-City News she’s got a team of experts ready to launch the production facility, in the north building.
And she’s prepared to take the municipality to court should council ultimately turn down her application.
“I’m furious,” she said. “They are making a moral decision about medical marijuana, which is legal, but yet they allow a [remand centre] and liquor stores near schools and neighbourhoods? It doesn’t make sense.”
Wallace said Lucava has yet to apply for a medical marijuana licence from Health Canada.
In 2015, PoCo city council approved a medical pot factory application from Remedi Pharmaceuticals for a warehouse in the Meridian Industrial Park.
