Delta council signed off on two more cannabis dispensaries last week, for a total of eight approved in the last eight months.
Both new stores approved are in North Delta: one at Scott 72 shopping centre, to be operated by Queensborough Cannabis Co., and another attached to the Tidewaters Pub and Liquor Store, under the business name Kushi Cannabis Co.
Coun. Lois Jackson was the lone vote against the Scott Road store, citing public opposition to the dispensary’s location.
“I am concerned that there are a lot of people out there — and it came forward at the public hearing — that would prefer that these locations be away from shopping centres where there is an abundance of young children and should be possibly on the periphery of the community, and I do support the folks that have that concern,” Jackson said.
Only one person spoke against the application at the public hearing on June 7: Surrey resident Parminder Kaur, who voiced concern over the location’s proximity to schools and other establishments frequented by youth. Four of seven letters to council opposed to or concerned with the application raised similar concerns (one of those was from Kaur).
Meanwhile, one person spoke in support of the application, as did five letter writers.
The City of Delta does not have location guidelines for cannabis dispensaries, however staff noted the proposed location generally meets or exceeds the average requirements of other local governments with respect to the proximity to schools and parks. The location is, however, only 358 metres away from the nearest cannabis store (a BC Cannabis Store approved April 25), less than the one kilometre required by other municipalities.
The River Road store, meanwhile, was approved unanimously by council, with Jackson calling the location “far superior to what we’ve seen at the shopping centre on 120th.”
On May 16, council directed staff to not accept more cannabis dispensary applications “until further notice” while the six in stream make their way through the approval process.
Five of those have been since been approved. In addition to the two North Delta stores approved last week, council has given the go-ahead to two dispensaries in Tsawwassen as well as an Inspired Cannabis location in Ladner.
One final application, received by the city on Dec. 16, 2021, is still under review by staff and has not yet made its way to council. That application is for a store at 14 – 7550 River Road in Tilbury to be operated by 4Twenty Cannabis.
Find the latest must-read stories from the cannabis world at canadianevergreen.com, your go-to source for news, trends, products and lifestyle inspiration from the cannabis community and beyond. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.