By Ashley Legassic

Sun Peaks council not yet ready to approve proposed cannabis store

Feb 20, 2019 | 4:05 PM

SUN PEAKS, B.C. — The first cannabis store proposed for the Sun Peaks municipality still has plenty of steps ahead before it comes to fruition.

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality Mayor Al Raine says a rezoning proposal for a lot near Sun Peaks Road and Alpine Road came to council on Feb. 19. The location would include a gas station, convenience store and a separate retail cannabis store.

“It came before council with the recommendation to give it first reading, because in fact the site had been proposed for a gas station since some time,” Raine says. “But there wasn’t enough information about how the traffic’s going to flow into the intersection, how the traffic’s going to flow on the little side street, and council said until we can get a feel for the impact on traffic in that area with this development, we’re not prepared to go to second reading.”

A second reading of the proposal would then head to a public hearing, but Raine says there’s not enough information to put the motion before the public yet.

“I suspect, and certainly I advised members of council last night, that I think because of the cannabis shop, this will be a more publicly watched process, and right now we just were not given enough information to be able to make any decisions,” he says. “In fact it even brings to my personal mind a bigger question — we have a lot of development actually happening in the Burfield area right now, and… we need to be thinking how does the new development down in the Burfield, how does pedestrian flow work from one property to the other? Or how the road’s going to work?”

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“We’re going to have to take a whole good look at that part of the community to make sure that we’re making the right decisions.”

One issue Raine has heard being brought up is the proximity of the cannabis store to staff housing. He says considering cannabis is legal now and that it’s easier for adults to obtain legal marijuana, he doesn’t foresee a spike in cannabis use in the community.

Considering the concerns of traffic flow in the area, Raine says it will still be a while before the project receives council’s approval.

“I would say it’s at least five or six weeks before it could go to second reading and then a public hearing after that, and there’s requirements there — 30 days — so we’re several months away.”

But one thing that the municipality is overdue for, Raine says, is a gas station. There currently isn’t one in Sun Peaks and the nearest place to fill up is about 16 kilometres away.

“Many guests don’t realize when they turn off at Heffley Creek that they’re just going by the last gas station,” he says. “I think people do arrive in Sun Peaks with a low tank of gas and have to scramble around. Fortunately most of the accommodators do carry a little bit of gas so they can help people out to get back to the gas station. It’s certainly needed and I think it would be a good project.”