Oro-Medonte residents seek relief from cannabis production odours

Oro-Medonte is seeking an amicable solution to deal with the odour from commercial cannabis production facilities that's upsetting residents.

Currently, the Town of Oro-Medonte has four cannabis production facilities, with more pending.

The previous council adopted a bylaw restricting cannabis production to industrial and economic development properties.

Operators appealed the decision with the Ontario Land Tribunal and won.

"We've applied for a leave to the appeal. We are looking to hopefully provide a solution that brings some relief to the residents in our settlement areas from the odour released from the flowing period of the hemp farms," said Oro-Medonte Mayor Randy Greenlaw, adding the odour from some properties is strongest during the late summer, early fall months.

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A local group said it is disappointed with the ruling and hopes the town's appeal is successful.

"The biggest concern is three months where many residents simply feel they can't go into their backyard," said Mitch Eisen of the Oro-Medonte Community Coalition. "The smell is so awful many find it very skunky, some find it more marijuana smell, but anyway you cut it, it's not a pleasant odour."

The mayor suggested having a setback similar to what's allowed for livestock and pig farms so the odour is less intense.

"It means they would have a setback from the settlement area to the operation where the fields where they were growing hemp crops or cannabis crops," Greenlaw noted.

While the mayor said council isn't against cannabis facilities, it wants to ensure they don't impact residents' quality of life.

The leave to the appeal was filed last week, and a decision could take a while. Greenlaw is hopeful they can find a solution so everyone can move forward without any problems.