By James Peters

Kamloops council to consider four more cannabis store applications; running total is 13

Feb 1, 2019 | 1:46 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops council will have no fewer than four more private cannabis store applications to consider at an upcoming meeting.

Notices have been filed for new stores on Oriole Road in Valleyview, in the Walmart plaza, at Library Square on the North Shore and near Fourth Avenue and Lansdowne Street downtown.

Those applications are all set to come before council at its February 12 meeting, bringing the total number to 13 since cannabis was legalized last October.

Council has approved the first nine applications, sending them to the province for final approval.

City of Kamloops Business Licence Inspector Dave Jones says he’s not surprised at the number of applications to come forward, nor is he surprised that they are clustering in the downtown and Tranquille business districts.

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“The downtown and North Shore corridors were easy pickings. We do have some prime spots in the outskirts that you’ll start seeing now.”

MAP: Proposed cannabis stores across the city.

A member of the public and some councillors expressed concerns at this week’s council meeting that too many cannabis shops are being clustered in the North Shore business district.

But Jones says just because a half-dozen shops have applied doesn’t mean they will all succeed.

“It’s always a concern. But again, when we went through our rezoning practices, this is where council wanted them. The council of the day accepted the 100-metre proximity. People are finding these areas and are willing to take their chance to locate there,” said Jones.

“The comments in council were very valid (Tuesday). But, let’s say there were six or seven over there, I would suspect that not all of them will get a provincial license. So you’ll be back down to, probably, five again.”

Jones notes one more application is in the city’s queue, and he predicts a total of 15 to 20 applications before the rush slows down.

“There are still quite a few areas that haven’t been filled where I know there are spaces available. The communications I’ve had on the phone with different people would indicate to me that others are going to be making applications,” said Jones. “So to meet that 15 or 20, we’re exactly where I thought we would be.”

“I probably get a dozen phonecalls a day, looking for more spots in Kamloops,” he added. “So there are people out there willing to invest in this new culture change and take a chance on that.”

The Shore Cannabiz Shop at 399 Tranquille Road received its provincial approval last week, joining the Sahali provincial cannabis store as the only ones in Kamloops to be approved by Victoria.

Jones predicts Fiore Fresco in the Fortune Shopping Centre, which came to council for approval at the same time as The Shore Cannabiz, will receive word for the province next.

“A slow rollout, but in my opinion, that’s a good thing,” said Jones. “That means the province is doing its due diligence and making sure that the operators they want in place are the ones that are going to get the licenses.”