Variances for retail cannabis stores won’t be allowed in Red Deer

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Brett Salomons, a commercial real estate broker in Red Deer, spoke against the proposed amendments during the public hearing.

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“Variances are there to look at individual cases because there are so many unique circumstances that come up. By implementing this bylaw, you are now putting a barrier to entry for new entrants and further enabling incumbents to become complacent,” Salomons opined. 

“An example I’ll give is drinking establishments in town. We have a radius bylaw for drinking establishments and what that’s done is made our night clubs and other drinking establishments get lazy. They don’t innovate, they don’t invest into their properties, they sit there because they have an artificial barrier to entry to not allow other competition to come in and keep them honest. That’s why we’ve had some of these night clubs become deteriorated.”

Salomons also stated that he doesn’t buy the prevention of clustering as a good reason, further stating that clustering may even have its advantages.

Last April, Salomons also told rdnewsNOW he wasn’t so sure that keeping cannabis retail any particular distance from schools and areas where youth are would prevent kids from gaining access to it.

“If someone wants that product, they’ll find a way,” he said following a meeting in which council sent back proposed regulations for revision.

Aside from the prevention of clustering, other rationale for council’s most recent direction on Monday included maintaining a balance of providing opportunities for the use itself, keeping sensitive uses separated, and ensuring a variety of uses.