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County of Barrhead approve its first development application for its industrial park

Let the balloons fly, There is cause for celebration.

Let the balloons fly, There is cause for celebration.

That is what County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd said prior to councillors unanimously approving Royal Canadian Cannabis’ (RCC) application to build a 52,000-square foot pharmaceutical grade cultivation and extraction facility at the Kiel Industrial Park during their April 2 meeting.

RCC purchased a parcel at the county’s industrial park east of Barrhead in August with plans to cultivate and produce medical marijuana products.

Development officer Jenny Bruns noted the industrial park is zoned as a direct control district and is part of the intermunicipal development plan (IDP) with the Town of Barrhead.

“As a direct control (DC) district council has the final authority on any development in this district,” she said, noting the federal government requirements were the biggest hurdle for RCC. “Health Canada also has a lot of guidelines that they have to adhere to including security, operation of the facility to fencing, disposable materials to air quality. So it takes a lot of the responsibility off of our shoulders.”

Bruns added she also referred the project to MP [Municipal Planning Services] because a grading plan must be completed before the property can connect to county services and utilities. “We don’t have that yet. It is part of the project that is expected to be done this spring,” she said.

Although it is DC and any conditions that the councillors decide to impose is up to their discretion it is the county’s practice to consult with adjacent landowners, something they have done continuously as the project progresses.

Coun. Walter. Preugschas questioned if there was enough parking for a facility this large.

Bruns agreed, noting they currently have allocated 25 stalls for employee parking.

“If they ramp up to 60 employees [by the end of Phase 1] as they hope to that might not be enough,” she said, noting not all 60 employees would be working at the same time. “But for the initial phase, it is sufficient.”

In the information package, RCC states the construction of Phase 1 — a 52,000 square foot with two flower growing rooms, along with space for extraction, shipping and security and office facilities — will begin this spring and is expected to be complete by the end of 2019. They also expect to start construction of an additional six growing rooms on the initial building by the end of the year.

If things go well, RCC hopes to add an additional building on its five-acre parcel, which would be devoted mainly to growing space.

Bruns also noted, as part of the sales agreement, RCC has the right of first refusal on an adjacent lot.

“They [RCC] have talked about in their long-range plans of having the need for the extra lot, not necessarily for medical cannabis, but other ventures,” she said.

Reeve Doug Drozd and Coun. Darrell Troock noted how important the facility meant not only for the county but the entire community.

“This facility is expected to bring 45 to 60 jobs to the area. It really is something to celebrate,” Drozd said.

RCC chief executive officer Jake Burlet noted the timelines in the documents are only tentative, adding they are still waiting to receive their certification from Health Canada.

“We know the file is actively being managed and are confident that we will be approved,” he said, adding that they are still in the process of finalizing their building design but they had selected Clark Builders as their general contractor. “It is a complicated process because our facility has been designed to be European Union compliant and that comes with its own nuances.”

Burlet added RCC is looking forward to coming to Barrhead and become part of a burgeoning hemp industry, noting he recently attended a hemp workshop sponsored by the county.

“We foresee many potential synergies between industrial hemp growers, whether it be for seed or fibre, which will go along with our project,” he said. “We are eagerly looking forward to being a cluster of companies that can help feed off each other.”


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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