A specific piece of land
River's Edge residents reacted swiftly to news a medical marijuana production company wants to set up shop near their homes in Nanoose Bay.
Amber Leppard lives on River's Edge Drive about one kilometre from where she believes Wildflower Marijuana Inc. is proposing to build a 68,000 square foot production facility on ALR land that was formerly Paradise Acres Ranch. Leppard e-mailed a letter detailing her concerns to Health Canada on Wednesday and called The NEWS after the story broke in the Thursday edition.
"The first we heard of this was just a few days ago," said Leppard. "We have a lot of really upset people here right now."
A neighbourhood gathering about the issue is scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m. at the corner of Kaye Road and Rascal Lane.
"It wouldn't matter if they were growing tomatoes," she said.
“It’s going to be a large, commercial operation in a rural residential area.”
Neither the Regional District of Nanaimo or Wildflower CEO William MacLean indicated a specific piece of land that would be the site of the operation, but Leppard said “it’s quite obvious” it’s the former Paradise Acres Ranch, a 125-acre property with a three-bedroom, four-bathroom, 4,077 square-foot home at the end of Paradise Place, which connects to Kaye Road, the major artery for most of the neighbourhood that’s known locally as River’s Edge. The ranch lands are part of the ALR, were listed recently for $2.9 million and have been sold for an unknown price.