What’s a city to do about the smell of marijuana growing in residential neighbourhoods?
It turns out the answer might be to just wait.
Five years after former Ward 8 Councillor Gary Kaschuk asked Windsor city staff to prepare a report on a bylaw on nuisance cannabis odours, city staff's reply is going to city council.
Very few municipalities have enacted bylaws to control the smell of marijuana cultivated for personal medical use, and the report suggests that might be because it could be susceptible to a court challenge.
Leamington's bylaw isn't really meant to police personal growers, but rather commercial ones. However, the town did bring forth an application to stop one resident from growing pot on his 4.5-acre hobby farm.
The resident leased a greenhouse to several individuals so they could grow cannabis. Each had a license to grow from Health Canada, as did the property owner. Each one was allowed to grow hundreds of plants.
At the heart of Leamington's application was the location of the resident's farm. It wasn't in an area zoned for industrial.
The resident fought the application in court, and the case is now before the Superior Court of Justice.
Kingsville has a bylaw, but again, it's not intended for personal growers, and the City of Hamilton said enforcing its bylaw has been a challenge.
"Drafting a cannabis odour by-law that captures only those odours that warrant municipal enforcement, prosecution, and penalties, and that does not unduly encroach upon federally-approved activities is a delicate balancing act," said the report to council. "Striking the correct balance will be difficult, and the ability to enforce such a by-law against residential growers is questionable."
It recommends the city wait for the outcome of the case in Leamington before proceeding.
There have been ten complaints about the smell of cannabis in residential areas to date, and all of the complaints are about the same property.
