If you were wondering what Coun. Aaron Frost’s thoughts are on the Town of Port McNeill’s bylaw amendment that will “temporarily” ban the sale of legal cannabis inside the town’s jurisdiction, well, look no further.
Frost was absent from the town’s previous two council meetings, and as such, was unable to vote on bylaw amendment No. 687, 2018’s first and second reading. He was, however, in attendance at their most recent meeting on July 16 where he voted in favour of the bylaw receiving third and final reading.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t here to vote (previously), but I spoke with all the councillors and was kept up to date with what was going on,” he said, noting that he is completely on the same page as the rest of his peers regarding the temporary ban on the sale of legal cannabis.
Resident Gaby Wickstrom asked during the question and answer period if the town’s upcoming cannabis committee meetings will be open to the public to attend.
“The cannabis committee meetings will be held exactly the same as regular council meetings,” confirmed Deputy Administrator Pete Nelson-Smith. “They’ll be following the same procedural bylaws that our council follows, so the meetings will be open to the public … They can sit and observe and then ask questions at the end.”
It was also announced that Coun. Shelley Downey has stepped forward to be the town’s representative on the committee.
Here is the Town of Port McNeill’s proposed timeline for non-medicinal cannabis legalization:
June 4 – First reading of zoning bylaw amendment No. 671, 2016 to include the definition of “Cannabis Retail” and text to temporarily prohibit the retail sale of cannabis in the boundary of the Town of Port McNeill;
June 6 – Two week advertisement of public consultation process to amend zoning bylaw;
June 18 – Public consultation at regular council meeting. Second reading of bylaw;
July 16 – Adopt Zoning Bylaw Amendment No. 687, 2018. Third and final reading;
July/August – Review provincial requirements for non-medicinal cannabis retail upon the federal government’s proposed legalization of non-medicinal cannabis;
July/August – Advertise for committee members to make recommendations to council on non-medicinal cannabis retail in the boundary of the Town of Port McNeill (two weeks). Include council representative, Town of Port McNeill staff member, RCMP, retail property owners, prospective non-medicinal cannabis retailers, residential interests (group of seven);
August/September – Commence with committee meeting and formulate recommendations to council on zoning amendments, business licensing bylaws, nuisance bylaws, health and safety, building recommendations, and other considerations; and
October/December – Bring recommendations forward to council.