With less than a month to go until new federal and provincial laws on cannabis come into force, the Town of Gibsons continues to move forward with zoning amendments that would effectively ban cannabis retailers unless they apply for a temporary use permit or have their property rezoned.
The amendments, which got first and second readings at the Sept. 14 council meeting, add “cannabis consumption lounge” and “cannabis store” to the list of prohibited uses in all zones.
What that means in practical terms, according to a planning department report, is that no one could open either type of operation without going through council.
If the bylaws are left unchanged, anyone who gets a provincial licence to sell non-medical cannabis could open in any part of town where retail uses are allowed.
Planning staff also recommended changes to fees bylaw to allow the Town to charge $1,000 for processing referrals from the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch “to recover costs incurred by the Town.” The new fee would also apply to liquor licence applications.
The report said the previous fee, $300, has not been enough to cover the true cost of those applications.
A public hearing on the zoning amendments will be held at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at Town Hall.
