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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2014
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NEIGHBOURS WATCHING OUT FOR EACH OTHER
◗ MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Pot spots branching out in city BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
New Westminster is going to pot – but only in certain areas of the city. A day after a medical marijuana growup went up in flames in Langley, city council held a public hearing regarding bylaw changes that would limit the growing of medical marijuana in heavy industrial zones. The city had previously proposed that medicinal marijuana operations be contained to the P8 zone, but that’s no longer the case. “We’ve gone in a completely different direction. The most recent report states it is going to be suggested it be permitted in the M2 heavy industrial district. The P8 was basically one property – the works yard,” said senior planner Barry Waitt. “M2 has a lot more properties than that.” The M2 heavy industrial district has significantly more properties than P8, including sites in the Braid industrial area, along Brunette Avenue, (mostly on the south side), pockets of land in Queensborough and waterfront property near Kruger. “Council directed us to do it. … They didn’t like the narrow approach we came up with. They directed us to talked a broader approach. Under the older approach, it had to go through a rezoning. They wanted not to have that situation. It (rezoning) is not (required) if someone finds a site that is M2.” Following the public hearing, council approved the zoning change that would allow medical marijuana to be grown in the M2 zone. Coun. Betty McIntosh supported the move but reiterated concerns that she thinks the College of Pharmacists should be involved in the distribution of medical marijuana. “I think the government has not gone ◗Pot Page 3
Jason Lang/THE RECORD
Spread the word: David Brett, president of the Queen’s Park Residents’ Association, says more communication is needed in order to keep everyone in the neighbourhood up-to-date on what’s happening.
Keeping everyone in the loop BY CAYLEY DOBIE REPORTER editorial@royalcityrecord.com
All it takes is the rumour of burglars ransacking your neighbours’ homes to find out how strong – or weak – the local grapevine is. The president of the Queen’s Park Residents Association, David Brett, found out that bad news really does travel fast, when folks started sending out emails warning of a “rash” and “string” of thefts in the neighbourhood recently. The emails triggered a bit of a panic in the neighbourhood leading Brett to take a closer look at the issue of communication, particularly about crime, in his community. “The neighbourhood needs to come
up with a strategy to broaden the communication, because I sit on the policing committee and often I don’t hear about things that are happening in the neighbourhood because they don’t have my email address or I don’t have theirs,” he said. In this instance, Brett took action and shared his concerns at the city’s community policing committee meeting in January. At the meeting, it was decided that representatives from the New Westminster Police Department would speak directly with residents in order to clear the air on what was happening in Queen’s Park. About 40 to 50 residents, along with Deputy Chief Laurin Stenerson and Shelley Cole, coordinator of the department’s crime prevention unit, attended a
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meeting of Feb. 16 to discuss the breakins in Queen’s Park. “As it turns out, the actual number of break-and-enters in the neighbourhood, the police would not consider to be a rash of break-ins but somewhat in keeping with normal levels,” Brett said. While there were about six break-ins reported to police in January, three of them were break-ins to garages or outbuildings and not actual homes. Police also told residents that it’s common to see a rise in break-ins right after the holidays, when thieves know there are new, and often expensive, items in homes. According to Cole, the best way to improve communication and protect your neighbourhood is by joining Block ◗Brett Page 4
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