Regulating cannabis production facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve bylaw standard

Updated Standards for Cannabis Production Facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food (Ministry) recently updated the Minister’s Bylaw Standard for Cannabis Production Facilities in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

The Ministry’s Guide for Bylaw Development in Farming Areas offers standards for local governments who are developing and amending bylaws affecting farming areas. These standards, known as the Minister’s Bylaw Standards (MBS), relate mainly to zoning bylaws and have been created to promote consistency among local governments in their treatment of farming activities and to minimize conflict around agricultural uses.

In 2015, the Ministry created an MBS for medical marihuana production facilities (MMPFs) in the ALR. Given that non-medical, federally licensed cannabis was legalized in October 2018, the existing MBS for MMPFs in the ALR was out of date and as such, the Ministry drafted a discussion paper to update the standard. The discussion paper is intended to support local government bylaw development regarding non-medical, federally licensed cannabis production facilities in the ALR.

To complete the discussion paper, Ministry staff conducted a fulsome review of the existing MBS for MMPFs in the ALR, reviewed cannabis production regulations from five other jurisdictions in Canada, reviewed the zoning bylaws pertaining to cannabis production for 20 different local governments in B.C., completed targeted consultation with five B.C. local governments and conducted widespread consultation with internal and external stakeholders including B.C. local governments and relevant agricultural industry groups.

Ministry analysis indicates that the majority of the existing MBS for MMPFs are still relevant/acceptable standards and as such, only minor amendments for the updated MBS for cannabis production in the ALR were made.

Please note that Ministry staff are currently conducting a comprehensive update to the Guide for Bylaw Development in Farming Areas that is anticipated to be completed in 2025. Part of this update will incorporate the updated MBS for cannabis production facilities in the ALR as a standalone section.

• January 2024 Discussion Paper and Minister’s Bylaw Standard (PDF, 459 KB)