TRISHA SHANKS
Arrow Lakes News
The first draft of the new bylaw regarding cannabis retail sales was defeated during the council meeting held May 28. After the defeat, council requested an amendment to the section regarding location. The purpose of the rewrite was to broaden the location possibilities while still offering a potential licensee options within the most common business area.
CAO Laurie Taylor and staff used the spring cannabis public survey results in the creation of Item 22 to be added to the Zoning Bylaw 614, 2008 concerning retail sales of cannabis. In addition to defining a Cannabis Retail Sales Facility as a facility licensed to sell non-medical cannabis [recreational] and cannabis accessories, the first draft also stated that the store could not be located within 500 meters of a school, daycare, public park, playground or beach. This would have eliminated all of the downtown core.
Zoning amendments were completed for the special meeting held June 18 to broaden the permitted location to 500 meters from a school, daycare or playground but to allow the establishment to be located within 500 meters of a public park or beach.
Updates to bylaws are periodically required to keep up with the changing times, and recent changes to other bylaws have been made to prohibit the smoking of cannabis in public parks and to set fees for consulting on provincial cannabis sales licenses.
Zoning changes will also redefine the definition of a convenience store to exclude cannabis sales, that only one Cannabis Retail Sales Facility, at a time, will be permitted within the limits of the Village of Nakusp and that it must be properly licensed by the provincial government. Council will have final say on the exact location and this will be limited to those which are zoned C1- Core Commercial or C4- Highway Commercial. It may not be a home operation and licensee is then subject to the parameters of a business licence.
On June 18, the bylaw was read for a first and second time. Before the final vote, a public hearing will be held July 9, 2018 the details of which will be forthcoming.
Recreational cannabis will be legal in Canada on October 17, 2018.