Chatham-Kent continues to mull over its options when it comes to nuisance light and odour from greenhouses.
Communities like Kingsville and Leamington are working on enforcement of recently enacted bylaws to limit public nuisances related to greenhouse operations, particularly when it comes to cannabis.
Mayor Darrin Canniff says while it’s not as much of a problem in CK, preventative measures are always a good idea.
“We’re putting together a bylaw, it’ll likely be similar to what’s in Kingsville and Leamington, because they’re dealing with a lot of existing (operations,) so they want to put something in place as there’s new developments that they follow all that to cover off the light aspect of things.”
However, the issue of odour is a lot more complex.
“You could argue it’s not just cannabis, there are a lot of crops you drive by and they don’t smell all that good. It’s a lot tougher to start getting into legislating the smell coming off of agricultural land.”
However, Canniff says the issue of cannabis operations isn’t entirely a municipal issue.
“We’re looking to the federal government to provide more guidance. As we move forward, there’s a lot of people growing it and they’re caught in between a lot of rules and regulations. They need to tighten those up so we can make sure it’s enforced properly.”
Municipal administration is currently working on a report with options to proactively address any issues. It’s expected before council no later than April 1st.