Only two people presented their views at a public hearing held at Nelson City Hall on Monday to get the public’s reaction to a proposed moratorium on recreational cannabis sales. Both presentations took less than one minute.
Brenton Raby said he supports the moratorium. He said he hopes the city will change its terminology by replacing the word “marijuana” with the word “cannabis.”
Herb Couch said he is pleased that the moratorium does not include medical cannabis.
“And I think it is great that there will be a public consultation process,” said. “I thank council for that.”
At its regular meeting later in the evening, council adopted its new zoning amendment bylaw, which it had first presented at its Dec. 4 meeting.
The amendment bylaw defines “cannabis business” as “the cultivating, growing, producing, packaging, storing, distributing, dispensing, advertising, trading or selling of cannabis (marijuana) or its derivatives but excludes City approved Cannabis related businesses.”
The bylaw amendment goes on to include cannabis businesses as a prohibited use in all zones of the city.
This move to regulate recreational cannabis sales is unrelated to the current six medical cannabis dispensaries in the city.
The purpose of the moratorium is to prevent anyone from opening up a recreational cannabis business in Nelson before federal and provincial rules are made known in the summer.
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
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