Cannabis retail in Cloverdale has gotten off to a bumpy start for one applicant.
An application by “137 Brands” was first greenlit to go before council, but was replaced last minute as it would have been located too close to a school. A second proposed location is within 200 metres of the Mini Rec, but the city says the rec is fully supervised, so the new location is OK.
According to an inter-office memo from Ron Gill, acting GM of the city’s Planning and Development department, 137 Brands was swapped out for another applicant because their location fell within 200 metres of a “sensitive use” location.
“After finalizing the report, staff have identified an administrative error in the selection process for the Cloverdale community,” Gill wrote in the memo. “The application from
READ MORE: Surrey council asked to OK 12 cannabis retail stores in the city
Gill noted 137 Brands would be replaced on Corporate Report R216 (which passed reading with council Nov. 4) with another “eligible applicant” called “UEM Cannabis” with a proposed location of #100 – 5828 176th St., the former location of Overland Outfitters.
UEM’s proposed location however, falls within 200 metres of the Cloverdale Mini Rec, a city-owned property that currently runs a pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds.
According to the city’s Corporate Report R216, there are minimum separation distances necessary for a cannabis retail application to qualify.
“Any proposed locations must be a minimum of 200-metres from the following sensitive uses, as measured from the front door of the store to the nearest property line of the sensitive use location,” Gill and Joey Brar, GM of Corporate Services, noted in their co-authored corporate report. Those locations are: “public or provincially funded independent schools, city community centres and recreation centres; and existing cannabis retail or production locations within Surrey.”
The location for the UEM Cannabis shop is at #100 5828-176th St. and is only about 140 metres from the city-owned Cloverdale Mini Rec. on 58th, measured door-to-door.
The Cloverdale Reporter reached out to the city to find out why the Mini Rec and its pre-school program are not included in their 200-metre bubble-zone area, or to see if this was just another oversight when choosing an applicant to move forward with. The Reporter has also inquired as to why day-care facilities are not included in these exclusion zones.
An emailed response from Brar said the Cloverdale Mini Rec, along with day-care facilities, don’t fall into the “sensitive use” category and they were excluded from the “City Community Centres and Recreation Centres” list by an evaluation committee before the city asked for expression of interest from potential cannabis retailers.
“The intent of the sensitive use restriction is to ensure that sufficient distance exists between cannabis retail stores and City, community, and recreation facilities where significant numbers of unsupervised minors may gather,” Brar wrote. “Preschool licensing rules require that children are always supervised by qualified employees in sufficient numbers, therefore do not qualify as sensitive use locations.”
Brar wrote there was “little risk of any harmful exposure” of kids in preschool to any cannabis stores.
“The Cloverdale Mini Rec operates as a small preschool with restricted hours and limited enrolment, as do several hundred daycares and preschools within Surrey,” he added. “The City reviewed policies in other jurisdictions and found preschools were not identified as sensitive use locations.”
Brar said the intent of the “sensitive use” designation is to create a distance of 200 metres (or more) from cannabis retail locations and places, such as schools or rec centres, where there are “significant numbers” of kids that are unsupervised.
Scott Wheatley, executive director with the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, said his organization supports cannabis retail but says it needs to be done right and done slowly.
He said he had concerns with the 137 Brands application for a location at 17608 56th Avenue before it was deemed ineligible by the city.
“The Chamber wasn’t in favour of that one because of its proximity to the school.”
Wheatley added he was unaware the replacement applicant, UEM Cannabis, has their location less than 200 metres from a city-run pre-k program in the Mini Rec.
City staffers are now working on the rezoning process for applicants after R216 was passed. This will include public hearings and conditions of approval that include obtaining licensing through the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.
By way of background, the City on April 8 set out a “framework” for approving “a limited number” of cannabis retail stores – up to two in each of Surrey’s six communities – and on July 19 launched a Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEOI”) process that closed on Sept. 19.
All told, 31 submissions were received over the two months.
The other proposed location in Cloverdale, Queenborough Cannabis Co. Ltd., to be located at 19581 Fraser Hwy, does not appear to be closer than 200 metres to any of the above-mentioned “sensitive use” locations and is across the street from Willowbrook Mall.
—with files from Tom Zytaruk.
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