By Jessie Weisner

Council strengthens bylaw around supervised consumption site

Feb 19, 2019 | 8:19 PM

Medicine Hat, AB — City Council has approved an amendment to the Land Use Bylaw to establish a regulatory framework for supervised consumption sites.

The amendment includes the addition of a supervised consumption site definition, redefining it as a discretionary use in the mixed used downtown district.

The change allows for more regulatory control and public transparency when a supervised consumption site is in the works.

By making the site a discretionary use, a development permit will be required for approval. Requiring a Development permit would allow adjacent property owners, or the applicant, the right to appeal a decision by the development authority within 21 days of the date of decision.

However, this amendment was only passed today, meaning the supervised consumption site opening at 502 South Railway Street SE will be unaffected.

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Mayor Ted Clugston says the amendments allows City Council to have a voice with future developments.

“Perhaps if someone wanted to expand these sites or add another one at least maybe we’d get a seat at the table,” says Clugston.

Clugston adds implementing this bylaw amendment before the current supervised consumption site likely wouldn’t have made a difference.

“If we try to frustrate or block one of these, we’re going to get overruled anyway which is what we’ve said in the past,” says Clugston. “The perception out there is that somehow council could have stopped this and we can’t.”

Representatives from HIV Community Link were present for the amendment approval, but left when the item was finished.