The City of North Battleford is laying the groundwork for a medical marijuana facility to come to town.

The city is in the process of changing zoning bylaws to allow medical marijuana facilities to set up shop in it’s heavy industrial neighbourhood.

“We wanted to make sure that if there was ever to be interest in a development that it was being done in the right part of the city and that, to us, would be the heavy industrial area,” Mayor Ryan Bater said. “It just makes us prepared and, like any economic development project, we want to be prepared.”

The bylaw amendment was considered after a request from a developer, but there’s no development currently planned.

Bater said council is expected to pass the bylaw amendment later this month.

He said the move is not about making North Battleford a marijuana production-friendly city, but about being ready for when these businesses start to become more common place as legalization takes effect.

“It may not be very far away when municipalities across the country are having this conversation without the word medicinal,” he said.