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City council blazing a trail for more cannabis retail

Dec 10, 2019 | 6:00 AM

Retail cannabis stores could become more prominent in Red Deer in 2020.

On Monday, city council was updated on how successful Red Deer’s cannabis policies have been to date, and were presented with a pair of possible changes they could make.

Ahead of legalization in Oct. 2018, council worked to have bylaws in place which addressed where retail cannabis stores and production facilities could potentially be located, and where people could consume cannabis. At the time, they requested a 14-month update.

Currently, there are 16 approved retail locations from a total of 23 applications. Only six are in operation while another six applications have been denied.

The City has received zero complaints.

Council voted on Monday 6-3 in favour of administration bringing forth an amendment which would expand the number of districts where retail cannabis stores can be located as a discretionary use. The amendment will come back in the New Year and requires public hearing. Councillors Buck Buchanan, Tanya Handley and Vesna Higham were the dissenting votes.

Erin Stuart, Inspections and Licensing Manager, says potentially allowing retail cannabis stores in more districts aligns with The City’s thinking from prior to legalization.

“We really didn’t know what to anticipate,” says Stuart of the 23 applications. “The City is currently looking at ways to encourage economic development and have businesses open and want to stay. We want to have a very diverse economy, and look at the way we do business and try to reduce red tape where we can.”

There are already 35 spots in the city where a retail cannabis store could potentially open. That number will rise to 59 if the proposed change is made.

Currently in Red Deer there are 28 liquor stores and nine hotels/breweries.

Council tabled four site exception requests currently awaiting decision. Three would be applicable for discretionary status if council approves the forthcoming amendment.

Rules for minimum distances from schools, daycare facilities, City-operated rec facilities, hospitals and other retail cannabis stores will remain untouched at 300 metres.

As for production facilities, council deliberated bringing forward another Land Use Bylaw amendment to consider cannabis production facility as a discretionary use in the I1 Industrial District. It is currently only discretionary in I2. However, council voted 6-3 against that idea.

There are currently zero production facilities operating within Red Deer, though one approval has been given.

“What council has aspired to as we’ve dealt with a matter such as cannabis is trying to find the right balance between the fact that it is now legal — and so council needs to respond to a higher order of government’s legislation — with concerns we also hear around proliferation of specific types of businesses,” says Mayor Tara Veer. “When the federal government first legalized it, we had a very stringent approach through land use.”

Veer says council has heard concern from the public around the clustering of specific businesses types such as liquor stores, cannabis retail, pawn shops and payday loan centres.

In the first year of legalization, Red Deer RCMP have laid 25 charges under the Provincial Cannabis Act, and four under the Federal Cannabis Act. A total of 14 calls were received about impaired driving that wound up being related to cannabis.

The report also states that there have been three calls to Red Deer Emergency Services related to overconsumption of edibles, which became legal in Oct. 2019, by children and the elderly.