The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
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UFV Cascades split with visiting Vikings.
Cities target gaps in care for mentally ill.
John McDermott brings his golden voice to Chilliwack.
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FVRD eyes medical pot zoning rule Alina Konevski The Progress The Fraser Valley Regional District has confirmed that it will ban medical marijuana production on its rural residential land. But the regional district is still determining whether grow-ops will be permitted on industrial land, on agricultural land, or both. “We will not be allowing it in rural residential,” said Chief Administrative Officer Paul Gipps. “We’re still debating with the electoral areas, but we’re looking at maybe in the agricultural land area. But preferably I think we’re going to end up with grows in areas where you’re allowed production, like industrial zones, as well.” The City of Chilliwack will ban medical pot grow-ops on residential and agricultural land when the current individual growing licences expire April 1, 2014. Production will only be allowed on land with an M6 special industrial zone permit. FVRD’s regulation will be “along the same lines” as the city’s. The regional district does not yet have regulations pertaining specifically to medical marijuana grow-ops. The only ones that apply are the building and safety standards. Allowing pot grow-ops on FVRD agricultural land is still on the table. But the challenge is that FVRD contains a lot of agricultural land. Many private homes sit on land with farm class, which comes with tax exemptions. “If it’s an ALC (Agricultural Land Commission plot), do they (marijuana producers) get a tax exemption for farm land?” said Gipps. “Which wouldn’t be fair to all the other people that are farming to support their families.” For this reason, FVRD is leaning towards allowing medical marijuana production in industrial zones only. Although FVRD has no figures on how much of its land is used for marijuana production, Gipps says that FVRD “inspectors have tripped across many.”
Principal Rick Jones (right) is excited for the first day of school next week where the new Chilliwack secondary will be revealed to its students. Pictured here is the school’s courtyard. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
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New era for Chilliwack Secondary School Alina Konevski The Progress
second, smaller gym, as well as a fully equipped fitness centre. The artificial turf field is scheduled to be completed by spring 2014, and will be used by students and the city alike. The new tennis courts will be lit and also available for the community. Another corner off the main hall leads to a large industrial kitchen that is a prime teaching facility. It connects to an open space in front of the glass wall where foldable tables signal a cafeteria. There’s also a Murphy fold-up stage for students to hold concerts during lunch breaks. A new addition is the 22-station hairdressing salon. CSS still
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Chilliwack Secondary students will file into a modern new space come Tuesday as the district finishes up construction on the school building. The new and much improved CSS, about double the size of the old building, will open up to the community as never before. In addition to the many rentable spaces, the facility will house a wealth of community services as well as the Fraser Valley Distance Education school. “The face of the community is about to change,” said prin-
cipal Rick Jones. “This learning institution, when all its parts are running in a few months — the learning centre, the turf field — it’s going to have more opportunities for young people than anything I know of.” Jones guided members of the media on a sneak peak tour on Tuesday. The main school doors open to a large hall facing floor-toceiling windows and a view of mountains. In one corner is the new home of the Chilliwack Storm, a professional gym that Jones expects will draw athletic students to the school. There’s a
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needs to gather the industry and community connections, as well as recruit teachers and students, before the program’s anticipated opening in 2014. But when in place, the hairdressing program will be yet another way for students to develop career skills in high school. “We are optimistic of having a program that will actually ready students for the workplace and put them well on their way to a Red Seal hairdressing certificate,” said Jones. The salon is nearby to a spacious black box theatre room that can seat 250 between the