Peachland residents could see retail cannabis shops in town sometime soon, as the district has approved bylaw amendments that will make cannabis-related land use, application and licensing possible in the area.
The amendments were adopted during the Tuesday, Sept. 8 council meeting, and the district started accepting and processing applications on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
The road to allowing cannabis stores in Peachland has been a long one.
Recreational cannabis was legalized throughout the country nearly two years ago on Oct. 17, 2018, and Peachland’s local regulation process started in April 2019.
The zoning bylaw amendments proposed that definitions should be established for cannabis-related land uses, such as cannabis cultivation and processing for both medicinal and non-medicinal purposes, establishing maximum lot coverage for cannabis cultivation, providing exemptions to maximum height regulations, establishing minimum landscape buffer requirements and establishing riparian area setback requirements among other things.
This regulatory framework will help the district with its downtown revitalization and economic development priorities, as well as minimize the district’s climate impacts by requiring energy-efficient construction and design.
In all, the zoning bylaw allows for two cannabis retails stores within Peachland.
Council also approved a non-medicinal cannabis evaluation policy, which is designed to help the district deal with narrowing down applications by putting local applicants first and establishing a scoring matrix before being granted a license.
The District of Peachland is accepting cannabis licensing applications from now until Oct. 31.
For more information on the application process, visit the district’s website.