Gibsons council approved a change to zoning bylaws prohibiting cannabis stores and consumption lounges in all zones, with just hours to spare before the legalization of recreational cannabis came into force.
The bylaw essentially forces people interested in selling cannabis to apply for temporary use permits (TUP) or a site-specific rezoning.
Council also approved a TUP Tuesday night for one of the three cannabis shops that have been operating in the town under regular business licences. The owners of Healing Hut on Marine Drive are awaiting their provincial retail licence and plan to rebrand as Coastal Bay Cannabis.
The Town is still processing applications from two other cannabis sellers.
The application for the Rainforest Compassion Club, which has been operating in the 700 block of Gibsons Way since 2015, cleared the first stage on Tuesday.
The owners of the third dispensary, S&M Medicinal Sweet Shoppe on Gibsons Way, have just submitted their application, after telling councillors during a public hearing on the zoning bylaw that they did not intend to apply because the wording would require them to have a provincial licence.
Michelle and Doug Sikora said that would be too restrictive because it would mean no longer serving medicinal cannabis customers or producing and selling edibles.
Council had previously voted to hold off on adopting the bylaw in order to get more information about the implications of removing the requirement. A report from planning staff said while “licensed under provincial regulations” didn’t need to be in the definition of cannabis store, it would be important in assessing any permanent rezoning applications. The report also pointed out that a temporary use permit could still be approved and if a provincial licence wasn’t in place by the time the TUP expired, council could simply choose not to renew it.
Councillors heard comments during the public hearing from people who said they wanted access to a variety of cannabis products, not just the limited number allowed under the provincial licences, and products that were locally produced using locally sourced cannabis.
In the end, though, they passed the zoning bylaw as written.
Mayor Wayne Rowe pointed out that the Town needs to have control over where cannabis stores can locate, and has neither the power nor desire to control what type of cannabis products get sold – that’s strictly in the federal and provincial sphere.
“I understand the passion, and what some of the proponents are hoping to achieve eventually,” Rowe said. “It takes courageous people to sometimes move the needle on these changes in our society, and I suspect those people will continue to push that needle.”
Coun. Jeremy Valeriote said he was also willing to support the original wording of the bylaw, adding that with a three-year window for a temporary use permit, the province’s licensing rules could catch up with what the people who spoke at the public hearing want to see. “I will support this on the basis that within the three years of a temporary use permit much will change,” he said.
