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More than 100 people crowded Lumby’s White Valley Community Centre on Thursday to have their say on a controversial commercial cannabis operation.
Jonathon Fernandes, president of Green Amber, purchased 28 acres on Shafer Road in 2017 for the project. The land was sold for $325,000, according to BC Assessment information.
As he and his team gave a Powerpoint presentation on the location and construction of the facility, members of the audience shouted out their main concern: “Why isn’t this in the industrial park?”
Fernandes responded: “There was only one property available, and they wouldn’t sell it to us. And it’s on contaminated soil.
Regarding the current site, “The RDNO said yes. The Village of Lumby said yes," he added.
Others said the project is destroying the neighbourhood and devaluing properties.
A core issue for residents of the rural area is the physical presence of a 100,000-square-foot steel building with a concrete floor on the ALR land, about the size of a Walmart store.
One neighbour said that would put the plant about 30 metres from her front door.
The land has been logged, leaving little if any buffer around its perimeter.
It’s not just aesthetics. Trish Cory said her family have been unable to sell their property because the proposed building butts up against it.
“Buyers have withdrawn their offers … our property has lost $100,000 in value," she said.
Neighbours were also concerned about water supply.
Fernandes said the plant has a more than adequate water supply from an on-site aquifer. As well, the project will include state-of-the-art water reclamation systems.
The consensus amongst the crowd was that they are not anti-cannabis, they just want the project somewhere else.
Fernandes said it would create 30 jobs, and construction and supplies would be sourced locally, where possible.
He promised more public meetings, and that this is “not a done deal yet.”
Castanet is waiting to hear if the RDNO and Village of Lumby plan on holding any public meetings.
– Cindy Rhyason
