It's busy week for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
Today at 3 p.m., the board of directors will preside over a public hearing on changes to the regional district's zoning bylaw to restrict the location of any new federally regulated medical marijuana production facilities.
Last month, board members passed the first two readings of a new bylaw to limit these grow operations to rural parcels of 16 hectares or larger on land zoned as M5 Agriculture Industry.
The facilities would be required to be set back 60 metres at the rear or side and 30 metres from the front of the lot.
Medical marijuana production already qualifies as a farm use under the Agricultural Land Commission Act and are allowed in the Agricultural Land Reserve. They are also permitted as an agriculture use in the majority of the areas covered by the regional district's zoning bylaw.
Other municipalities nationwide that have already tackled the issue have created prohibitions on the facilities that would keep them out of agricultural lands in solely in industrial areas while others have amended zoning bylaws to exclude them outright from within municipal borders.
Prior to the public hearing at 1:30 p.m., the board will sit as committee of the whole to recommend approval of more budget items.
On this month's agenda is the solid waste budget, which last year (along with improvements to the 911 service) helped to drive the financial plan to a $3.3 million increase.
Additional fees such as a $6 small load charge at the Foothills landfill and increases to tipping fees were also instituted last year.
For 2014, the regional district is forecasting to spend 2.3 per cent more than last year, but isn't looking to increase the amount of money collected from taxes. Staff suggest making up the difference through a $5 per tonne increase to tipping fees, maintaining the enforcement of the small load fee and uncovered load charges.
Individual electoral area, library and miscellaneous recreation and other community service budgets are also up for approval.
At last month's meeting, chief administrator Jim Martin characterized the regional district's budget as as a "work within" budget and that staff had to take a zero-based budgeting approach.
RDFFG directors will reconvene Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. for their monthly board meeting where they will hear back from staff on Area C director Lara Beckett's proposal for an agricultural planning program.
"While there are several agricultural strategies, initiatives and polices in place, there could be a place for the regional district to help enhance the local agricultural industry," wrote development services manager Terry McEachen in a board report.
