A developer planning to grow cannabis in Westsyde is acknowledging concerns from some neighbors.
Bill Bilton Junior is the head of a local investor group that plans to grow cannabis outdoors on a piece of farm land next to The Dunes Golf Course, on Westsyde Road on land within the Agricultural Land Reserve.
He says the Agricultural Land Commission now considers growing cannabis a farm use.
“There definitely has been some concern, and rightfully so. It’s a new industry and it’s kind of eye-opening to everyone. We have to follow strict guidelines on our air exchange. So even though the product is grown outside, when the plant flowers it does put off a scent or a smell. It is a farm product, most of them have some kind of smell to them, but albeit it’s short-lived.”
Bilton Junior says his group plans process the cannabis it grows in an indoor facility, on the same property.
“It’s processed in a small facility, and again the air exchange of that building – charcoal filters and hepa filters – are putting totally clean air back out, and keeping the smell contained during the harvest time. There’s no big flood lights or anything of that nature. Security is 24-7, 365, and we have an eight-foot fence around the grow area.”
Bilton says his group is still awaiting a license to grow from Health Canada.
The development would be the first cannabis facility within Kamloops city limits. Several larger cannabis grow operations are planned around the region, including a grow-op more than 200 acres large in Westwold, several large grow facilities planned near Merritt and others.