Public Input Needed On Municipal Cannabis Retail Policy

Tuesday, 30 July 2019 08:11

The community is being asked to give their input on Zorra Township's Municipal Cannabis Retail Policy. This comes after retail cannabis stores were allowed in the Township and the province will make the final decision.

ZORRA TOWNSHIP - Zorra Township council is looking for public input on their Municipal Cannabis Retail Policy.

Cannabis retail stores have been permitted in the Township.

Mayor Marcus Ryan says residents are being asked to review it.

"The province dictates that there's an inclusion zone around elementary schools, which is the case for three locations in Zorra, but staff have taken the initiative to say maybe a similar prohibitive zone should exist around libraries, swimming pools, recreational facilities, parkland etc. And have proposed an exclusion area of about, I think it's 70 metres, around those and we've put it out to the public to say are there any other areas that we have missed that should be considered as part of the exclusion zone."

Mayor Marcus Ryan says the provincial government has the final word, but the public's input could help influence it.

"And in particular what we're hoping for is that residents will identify other locations that we have not thought of already ourselves to say, 'maybe there should be exclusion zones around these.' Again, we've already identified things like recreational facilities, libraries and parks but maybe there's other areas that residents will think of that may be relevant that we could suggest to the province as well."

The public is asked to review the policy and mapping, as well as complete the survey which will be available online until the end of the month. He says they can find it the policy statement on the Township's website. They can also contact the Township office at 519-485-2490 or on social media through Twitter or on Facebook.

The input will be received at the next council meeting on August 7th.