Elevation drawings of Cannabis Haven Business Park.

By Sheldon Spackman

Blindman Industrial Park

Cannabis facility clears planning roadblock

May 22, 2019 | 12:45 PM

Plans to build a major cannabis production and processing facility north of Red Deer have cleared another hurdle.

On Tuesday, Red Deer County’s Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) approved an application to subdivide 10.75 acres from a roughly 120 acre parcel of land in the Blindman Industrial Park, helping to facilitate the project.

The land is currently zoned Business Service Industrial District and is located half a mile north of Red Deer, adjacent to the Red Deer River.

Dave Dittrick, Assistant County Manager and Director of Planning and Development Services, says the subdivision will kick-start Phase 1 of Cannabis Haven Business Park, which was recently approved by the Inter-municipal Subdivision and Development Appeal Board.

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The application was earlier denied by MPC when first brought forward in March, but the applicant appealed that decision and won.

“The next steps now are making the subdivision serviceable,” explains Dittrick. “They’ll be doing their Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the intersection of the two access roads into the Blindman Industrial Park onto Highway 2A. They’ll also be doing work regarding water and servicing, as well as looking at the environmental reserves and getting those surveyed-out.”

Dittrick points out, however, there’s still more hurdles to clear before construction begins.

“The appeal board put on around 20 conditions of approval,” says Dittrick. “They have another 10 conditions of approval that they have to work through for the subdivision as well. But essentially yes, they can go ahead and start working on their project. They do need to approve a few things before a development permit is issued but the notice of approval has been laid out by the appeal board.”

Phase 1 of Cannabis Haven Business Park is said to consist of four buildings, each with a footprint of 46,774 square feet. Plans include a presentation centre, site security building, “havenz pod” and staff security unit, bringing the total building area to 190,184 square feet. The facility will be surrounded by a ten-foot security fence.

However, with residential properties also in the nearby area, not all residents or members of MPC and council are in support of the project. Many fear a drop in real estate values, unwanted odours, loss of privacy, increased traffic and potential for crime.

“Obviously the issue of noise, safety, smell, we believe the appeal board made strict enough conditions,” Dittrick acknowledges. “We think that this development will be a positive for the community. We want it to be a job creator, a wealth generator for Red Deer County and its tax base.”

Dittrick anticipates construction starting this fall at the earliest or even 2020.

“Red Deer County staff is going to be diligent in reviewing those and in many cases, the City of Red Deer especially,” he explains. “They’ll be involved regarding the highways and intersections, as this property is adjacent to the City of Red Deer’s. So we’ll be working with Alberta Transportation and the City of Red Deer closely on this project.”