Ladysmith town council, at its last meeting of the previous council term, approved a development permit application for a building to be used for cannabis processing and cultivation.
Council met Oct. 25 at the Ladysmith Seniors Centre and dealt with a few orders of business including the permit application for 1144 Rocky Creek Rd. The property is already zoned for light industry and cannabis micro-processing and micro-cultivation is an approved land use. The applicant is proposing a two-storey, 7,800-square-foot facility.
“The proposed building has a contemporary industrial design and complements existing buildings on the street,” noted a staff report.
Coun. Tricia McKay was concerned that the number of on-site parking spots was being reduced to nine. Staff advised that the applicants stated there would only be six employees so there would be adequate parking. Mayor Aaron Stone also expressed reservations regarding the parking, noting that if the business were to change or move, a future tenant might require more parking.
The application was approved by council.
Also at the Oct. 25 meeting, staff presented information related to the start of budget planning for next year.
Erin Anderson, director of financial services, presented the water and sewer budget for 2023. In her report there was arecommendation to add a position of equipment operator into the new financial plan.
Another recommendation was to increase the sewer rates by 2.5 per cent and to also set the sewer parcel tax bylaw at $360 per parcel. The 2.5 per cent increase will work out to a $9.06 annual increase for a typical household. It was also recommended to increase the waterworks rate by five per cent and set the water parcel tax at $459, the same as the previous year. The increase to the waterworks rate will work out to an approximately $6.61 increase per quarter.
The next budget meeting is set for Nov. 15 and is open to the public.
The meeting was the final one for outgoing Coun. Rob Johnson. Stone commended Johnson for his love of the town and wished him well.
Johnson said he appreciated the opportunity, while on council, “to ask the questions and at times go beyond the questions.”
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