Sunnycrest Mall is no longer being considered as a site for a government-run cannabis shop after concerns were raised by attendees at Tuesday’s public information meeting.
Gibsons planning director Lesley-Anne Staats told Coast Reporter the day after the information meeting that the BC Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) had decided to withdraw its rezoning application to operate a cannabis retail store at the mall because “concerns were expressed regarding its proximity to the high school.”
“They have chosen to find a location that is better suited to the needs of our community,” said Staats.
About two dozen people attended the information session, held at the Gibsons community centre on the evening of Sept. 10. The proposed location was two vacant storefronts in Sunnycrest Mall that face the parking lot fronting Gibsons Way.
Kerri Lore, policy director at the LDB, attended the session and told Coast Reporter that responses to the application were mixed, with some attendees questioning the proposed location’s proximity to Elphinstone Secondary School.
The high school is next door to the mall – a point made clearer by one participant, who scribbled “high school” on one of the site plans in blue pen. Others asked about alternate locations. Lore noted at the meeting that there are limited options in Gibsons for the proposed store.
