Town council in Blackfalds accepted the Community Cannabis Advisory Committee’s recommended regulations for cannabis during its meeting on Tuesday night.

Up next, the town will hold a public consultation on Oct. 2 at the Blackfalds Community Centre to take resident feedback.

The committee’s recommendations fell into three areas: land use, enforcement and social services.

Cannabis retail is being proposed as a discretionary use in the downtown commercial district, as well as in commercial districts along Highway 2A. There would be 100-metre setbacks from schools and other dispensaries.

Preston Weran, director of infrastructure, told council these locations were recommended because they, as opposed to neighbourhood commercial districts, were high-traffic areas that would limit enforcement issues.

First reading for changes to the town’s land use bylaw is scheduled for February 2019. The bylaw is not expected to be passed until next April. Until then, the town has placed a moratorium on development permits related to cannabis.

“We wanted to be sure that we did it in a way that the community agreed with and that we’re able to control. We put the moratorium on because we didn’t have regulations in place,” said Mayor Richard Poole.

Permit fees are expected to be higher for cannabis businesses.

“We found that for cannabis use, because of the amount of regulation and the amount of planning that has come in, they are somewhat higher than other businesses but they’re right in line with other communities,” Poole said.

“We want to recover the costs that are involved with the regulation and with the permit process.”

Enforcement

The committee is recommending an “educational transition period” where bylaw enforcement would use discretion and not “actively pursue” charges for offences.

The reasoning is to give officers the chance to educate the public on new rules related to land use and smoking.

Poole said the period would be between six to eight months.

Social services

The recommendation from the social services sub-committee was to ban the smoking of any substance in public parks and playgrounds.

Tobacco smoking would have to be at least 10 metres away from all public parks and playgrounds.

There would also be a five-metre minimum distance from public places where smoking is banned.

As well, the sub-committee recommended improving public awareness of substance abuse and social support programs.

Smoking bylaw

Council gave first reading to a smoking bylaw they hope will come into effect before Oct. 17 when cannabis is legalized.

The bylaw would ban the public consumption of cannabis.

However, Poole said council is asking administration to clarify what the rules for medical users should be.

A breach of the bylaw would result in a $250 fine for a first offence, after council approved an amendment proposed by Coun. Rebecca Stendie.