By Chad Klassen

Buffer between retail cannabis stores in Kamloops to be 100 metres once legalized

May 9, 2018 | 12:12 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops city council is relaxing the buffer zone between cannabis stores once it’s legalized later this year. The distance between stores will now be 100 metre, compared to the previous 150-metre buffer, after council approved an amendment at a public hearing on Tuesday night. 

“There was a concern that you would have businesses too close to each other, causing clustering. Frankly, my feel on something like that is, you could have 15 book shopes all in one block. The cream rises to the top, so it really comes down to who’s the best businessman and who’s going to operate a proper shop,” says councillor Dieter Dudy, who served as deputy mayor at the Sandman Centre. “I’m not concerned if we have two or three within a city block to each. It’s not going to happen with what we’ve done.”

The shorter buffer zone was discussed at length by councillors, although the 150-metre distance from schools will remain. Some residents in attendance questioned the zoning restrictions, pushing for stores and access in all parts of the city. 

“There has to accessibility in every area of town, not just where we want it because it’s safe access for all. It has to be,” says Kamloops resident Caroline King, who wants her sons to have safe access to cannabis. 

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Another concern has been cannabis store owners struggling to find space within appropriate zones that was talked about on Tuesday night. 

“All of Brocklehurst, there’s no retail stores out there for rent, not one,” says co-owner of Weeds, Glass & Gifts Charles McCarthy who operates on 12th Street on the North Shore. “The retail store, and I went to every one for sale and lease. A lot of them don’t want cannabis on their property like the Brock Shopping Centre. There’s not a place anywhere in Brocklehurst for a cannabis store.”

Also at the meeting was a representative of the now-closed Canna Clinic in Aberdeen, which was raided and shut down on monday by the RCMP. 

“They serve a patient base of approximately 5,000 people, which is a huge chunk of the population here,” says medical marijuana advocate Morgan Meredith, who represents the Canna Clinic. “Many are people who live nearby and rely on access available in their neighbourhoods, especially to fulfill their needs. Because they serve 5,000 who expect access in this neighbourhood, closure and limiting this neighbourhood leaves a huge gap open for the black market.”

Residents on Hillside Drive, in the strata complex where Canna Clinic was located, defended their concerns. 

“The residents of 1390 Hillside Drive are not against cannabis shops. We do not want the cannabis shop operating in our strata and the reason being is because we’re all the residential areas above,” says resident Debbie White, who spoke on Tuesday night on behalf of most of the residents in the complex. “I just listened to [Morgan Meredith] talk about the air quality. Attend one of our strata meetings and listen to all the people that are crying because it stinks.”

The city noted on tuesday night only two of the 11 cannabis stores in kamloops are operating legally. Staff are hoping to reduce that number significantly with the zoning bylaws, now just waiting for the federal government to give legal cannabis the green light. 

“At least we have a position as to where we’re going to allow people when they do start applying for licenses,” says Dudy.