A new cannabis retail store is set to open on Foster Street in uptown White Rock, B.C., following council’s recent approval of a three-year temporary use permit for the property.
But council also quickly amended the city zoning bylaw so that, going forward, no more than two non-medicinal cannabis stores will be allowed in the the uptown area. Previously a maximum of three were allowed.
The area is already home to the A Little Bud cannabis store, at 1484 Johnston Rd.
The new store, Imagine Cannabis, will be located at 1554 Foster St., in the premises formerly occupied by Debbie Mozelle Designer Optical, on the outer perimeter of Central Plaza.
The zoning bylaw amendment was proposed by Coun. Christopher Trevelyan, following swiftly on the heels of the temporary use permit decision, and was unanimously endorsed by council.
The permit for Imagine Cannabis, on a motion from Coun. Elaine Cheung, was passed on a split vote, with Mayor Megan Knight and Coun. David Chesney opposed. Council had deferred the decision on the permit, following a contentious public hearing June 24 at which speakers – including proponents of the new store and the owners of A Little Bud – were sharply divided on the issue.
Coun. Michele Partridge said she had heard the concerns voiced at the hearing, which included potential cannabis odour, the number of such stores in White Rock, parking, loitering, retail hours and an increase in the homeless population.
But Partridge said she felt the owner of the business had satisfactorily addressed all of the issues.
“This business has met all the requirements of the temporary use permit,” she said.
Cheung agreed that the applicants had “done everything correctly” and noted that those who had spoken against the permit represented a very small statistical sample of city population.
“Most of those against were from the building across the street, however, we are in a city centre,” she said, adding that she favoured reducing the number of cannabis stores allowed.
Trevelyan agreed with Cheung that experience over the past three years with A Little Bud had shown no adverse community reactions or problems.
“There’s not been violence, there’s not been ruffians, there’s not been crime – there’s not been any of that,” he said.
Like Partridge and Cheug, Trevelyan noted the business owner’s willingness to support community initiatives, similar to the policy practiced by A Little Bud.
Chesney said he felt there was a question of where Surrey was going to permit cannabis stores, which might potentially include one across North Bluff Road from Central Plaza, and that there was no indication that demand for cannabis products was sufficient for a second uptown store.
Knight, noting the opposition expressed by A Little Bud’s owner, saying she doesn’t support a monopoly on any store – “there should be healthy competition,” she said.
She said she was opposing the store principally because “the neighbourhood doesn’t want it,” but added she would have been more likely to support it had it been in one of the other units in Central Plaza facing the shopping centre’s large parking lot, rather than a unit fronting on Foster Street.
Coun. Ernie Klassen agreed there should not be a monopoly on any kind of store, although he favoured cities having limits on the number of certain kinds of businesses.
He also said the owners of Imagine “need to do a lot of educating of the customers to bring them into the parking lot rather than parking on the street.”
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