All government levels represented in session called by Councillor Mike Ciolfi
BY GLORIA J. KATCH Special to the VOICE
The famed comedic Abbott and Costello baseball sketch based on the punchline,"Who's on first?" comes to mind in dealing with the confusing marijuana issue that's pervading locally, and throughout many municipalities across the country, all trying to deal with complaints over marijuana grow ops. MPP Sam Oosterhoff echoed this sentiment, saying, "No one knows who is doing what...and who goes to whom for what?"
The questions reflected the state of frustration posed during a roundtable discussion on marijuana held last Friday at the community centre, involving a meeting of federal, provincial and local government officials.
The meeting was organized by Pelham Councillor Mike Ciolfi, who lives in the area of CannTrust, a large grow-op in Fenwick. Ciolfi says he's received about 30 complaints about odour and lighting in recent months. However, he's positive about the outcome of this meeting.
Arguably, the largest problem with marijuana legalization is that too many ministries and four levels of government oversee various aspects of cannabis, including cultivation on both large and small-scale levels, which is causing a bureaucratic quagmire.
For odour complaints, municipalities have to contact the Ministry of Health. Citizens wanting to make a complaint must complete a Cannabis Reporting Form through a website link from the municipality. For complaints about lighting emissions from agricultural greenhouses, complaints should be directed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). However, many people making complaints to the Ministry of Health are just being re-directed back to their municipalities.
What's worse is getting a reply.
MP Dean Allison said, "I had problems getting through, and I have access. I can't imagine what it would be like for a regular person."
MPP Sam Oosterhoff said he will be meeting with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and OMAFRA, to get some ideas to "mitigate the problems" caused by the legislation.
Allison suggested that municipalities may have to get together to take a stand on the issue. When asked about addressing it with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Allison told the Voice there wasn't enough information on the issue back then, so it wasn't discussed at last year's annual meeting.
The problem with dealing with the marijuana issue is that it's relatively new, and the standards were not all established prior to legalization. Allison said the act that covers building codes has not been updated since 2013. He told the Voice that he will need to follow up to improve this bill's standards, and "give it teeth," so it can do “what it was intended to do." In reference to building codes, he said there are safety concerns that need to be in place, especially since there will be many new companies sprouting up.
Gord Bates, Allison's Chief of Staff, told the Voice that the issue will become more urgent when people start growing marijuana in their back yards. Since landlords now have less control over what their tenants do with their properties, he said there are going to be more local community issues. He believes there "will be a court challenge down the road."
Oosterhoff lamented that getting a response from the right ministry officials has also been a problem. He wanted to know what action has been taken, and what the answers have been so he can address them.
The chair of the Pelham Preservation Coalition, Jim Jeffs, said he contacted the Farm Standards and Protection Board after months of complaints, and was told that there were no problems with odour control regarding the marijuana facilities.
Craig Genesse, Bylaw Enforcement Officer for the Town of Pelham, noted the difficulty of regulating odour, because by the time he responds to a complaint the odour may be gone. Resident Bill Heska, also from the Pelham Preservation Coalition, reiterated that monitoring odour levels can be "unpredictable," due to changing temperatures and wind levels.
Pelham Regional Councillor Diana Huson asked if the complaints were from neighbours of the grow-ops or closer to Welland. Genesse replied it was both, depending on the individual person's sensitivity to smell. Mayor Marvin Junkin pointed out that odour is created by particles in the air, which can be measured. "It's a case of finding the science, the parts per million, and you have to meet those standards."
Pelham’s Director of Planning and Development, Barb Wiens, said she has consulted with Pinchin Ltd., an environmental laboratory that studies odour emissions, but this study has not yet been applied to marijuana. Considering there are 1,100 strains of cannabis it might prove difficult, but Wiens noted Pinchin could take a sampling of the air to determine what would be "objectionable.”
When the lighting and heating in a greenhouse reach a certain temperature, the facility is opened for ventilation, which is when the odour escapes. There are other environmental practises, such as scrubbers, to prevent odour emissions.
"The industry is trying to mitigate this," explained Wiens.
Jeffs noted there is technology in Europe to assist with odour pollution problems, "but it's a matter of cost and putting pressure on the facility to do this."
A case involving odour control near Ottawa has caught the interest of Wiens, who is monitoring it to determine the results. However, she said in any agricultural area, there are odours, which are deemed "normal" for a farm, and particularly in the livestock industry. She is interested in knowing, "What's our jurisdiction on this, and can we regulate a certain crop that is growing?"
Mayor Junkin believes bylaws may be used to regulate marijuana odours, as "chicken and hog barns" have to be offset at least 200 meters and 400 meters, respectively, from property lines.
"It's up to the towns to have these discussions and put it in place. As long as they're under agriculture, you have to follow the rules," he said.
Huson critically noted a recent marijuana expansion in Pelham resulted in the removal of a cherry orchard. She commented on whether or not greenhouses should be on agricultural-zoned land. She believes they could be relegated to "appropriate areas,” which are not in proximity of neighbourhoods and communities. Huson agreed with Junkin, who earlier informed the round table participants that Niagara-on-the-Lake recently passed a bylaw relegating grow-ops to warehouse districts. In future, Councillor Ciolfi later told the Voice, this might be a feasible solution, and observed that industrial zoning areas are subjected to higher property taxes.
On a foggy night, there is one local marijuana facility that can probably be seen from the moon, although no one mentioned it by name. Resident Bill Heska said there are light meters that take readings to monitor the brightness.
Wiens said that the light can come from two sources—illumination of the plants, and security lighting that surrounds the operation.
Genesse noted OMAFRA deals with lighting complaints, but this is a three-step process. Complainants can email them at: [email protected]. However, "there are lots of hoops to jump through," he added.
Mayor Junkin suggested the Preservation Coalition consult with Genesse to get the process started, as MPP Oosterhoff noted it was important to log all of the concerns. Councillor Ciolfi suggested the Town assist in moving the issue forward.
Councillor Ron Kore suggested that the lighting problem was due to the grow-ops intent to drive higher yields. Wiens said that lighting needs depend on growing stages—in a vegetative state, cannabis requires 18 hours of light, while the flowering stage requires about 12 hours. There will be fewer problems with lighting in the summer as the days grow longer, she said. However, numerous crops are grown simultaneously, and are in different stages at the same time.
Overall, concerning odour and lighting, Wiens said that no building codes exist requiring municipalities to know the particulars about structures, such as ventilation systems, or for example, blinds in a house.
Councillor Ciolfi asked if these specifications could be added to the building code. Oosterhoff said as an MPP, he wouldn't want regulations which were that intrusive. "We don't want to get into something that specific, because some people will be upset,” and added that his father would be among them, as he was also a farmer. "There has to be some leeway," he said.
Wiens added the additional specifications to the building code would mean more training for building inspectors. As far as the current equipment and technology in existing grow-ops, the specific information is "proprietary, and this information is protected," she said.
In the meantime, Councillor Ciolfi said he’ll persevere to round all the bases. He told the Voice, "I'm going to keep pushing this forward."
