Coquitlam residents can have their say in the new year about pot shops opening up in the city.
Tonight (Monday), council will look at a proposed cannabis regulatory framework that lays out the scope, process and consultation for introducing marijuana businesses in the city.
The framework zeros in on three categories:
• production facilities (for cultivating and harvesting in industrial zones);
• processing plants (for edibles and oils in industrial and business enterprise zones);
• and retail stores (for commercial zones).
According to a report from Jim McIntyre, the city’s general manager of planning and development, pot shops will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and retailers will have to go through the necessary rezoning steps for their property.
However, McIntyre’s report leaves open the selection process for council — whether it be on a first-come, first-served basis, a lottery system or a merit/criteria-based approach for vendors.
Currently, Coquitlam’s zoning bylaw bans medical cannabis grow ops from being 300 metres from homes, churches, parks and schools. And under another regulation, liquor stores have to be at least 300 m apart from each other.
“Separation requirements may not be necessary for all production and processing facilities but could be used to help manage the distribution of retail stores and ensure appropriate separations from sensitive uses like parks and schools,” McIntyre wrote in his report. “These regulations will be considered further as part of the overall review.”
The framework also calls for more research around odour and potential contamination controls, and separation and signage requirements.
An earlier version of the framework came before the city’s strategic priorities standing committee in June.
If the Cannabis Regulatory Framework is approved tonight, a public consultation will launch in January; a staff report will be before council in the summer, with bylaw revisions to be considered later in the year.
Allowing for cannabis business in the city is marked as a low priority for Coquitlam. Port Coquitlam now has three pot stores — two private (under burb) and a BC Cannabis Store (in Dominion Triangle) — while Port Moody has two private retailers: burb and Kiaro.
Last December, Coquitlam OK’d a temporary use permit for a cannabis processing and research plant on Schooner Street. Since then, the city has received several inquiries about setting up similar businesses in Coquitlam, according to a committee report.
The BC Cannabis Store in Port Coquitlam.
