CANMORE - Retail cannabis stores in Canmore will have to shut their doors at 10 p.m. after elected officials in the community voted to limit hours of operations.
CANMORE - Retail cannabis stores in Canmore will have to shut their doors at 10 p.m. after elected officials in the community voted to limit hours of operations.
The change in regard to the hours of operation from provincial regulations, which would allow retail stores to be open until the same time as liquor stores at 2 a.m., came as part of third reading of the Land Use Bylaw.
Councillor Rob Seeley made the amendment, noting that restricted operating hours was a recommendation council received at its public hearing on changes to the bylaw earlier this year.
"I am asking council to limit the hours of operation from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and if in the future council wanted, we could extend those hours," Seeley said. "This will help minimize the chances of co-use (with alcohol) and assist the burden for law enforcement."
He pointed to submissions made by Alberta Health Services' Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brent Friesen at the public hearing to take a public health-based approach to regulations and increase restrictions around cannabis retail in the community.
"What AHS is recommending at this stage of the legalization of non-medical cannabis is that we take a more restricted approach," he said at the time. "It is important to remember that this more restrictive approach to regulation is not in spite of a lack of evidence, but because early evidence we have suggests there are potential harms with non-medical cannabis."
Manager of planning and development Alaric Fish presented the bylaw to council with minimal changes to provincial rules like a minimum 100 metre setback from schools and hospitals.
He said although there was some suggestion at the public hearing that there should be restrictions around the number of stores and minimal distances between them, administration was not recommending those kinds of regulations at this time.
"At the public hearing we heard a number of questions and concerns," Fish said. "There was a suggestion there should be a maximum number of stores and increased separation distances.
"This is primarily an issue that is the responsibility of the Province. The Province established the rules with distances and types of uses so, despite the input from the public hearing, administration at this point is not proposing any changes to the bylaw."
One issue considered after the hearing was a restriction on mixed use buildings, which Fish said would also require approval from a condo corporation if there were residential uses.
"In a mixed use building there is a condo board to address the issue through their own legislation," he said.
Where Canmore's regulations and the provincial rules around cannabis come into conflict is with respect to what can be visually displayed in a retail store that faces the sidewalk.
"In a number of areas of town we are trying to have an engaging street front and some of the provincial regulations challenge that," he said. "We are working with applicants to maintain minimal visual interest on the street front."
The regulations around marketing for cannabis, however, do not allow very much in terms of visual interest.
Mayor John Borrowman said the community, and in fact the entire country, is stepping into new territory when it comes to legalization of recreational cannabis.
He said if municipal regulations don't work in the future, they can be changed.
"Once cannabis retail is happening and we see how it plays out in the community, we have the option to bring back the Land Use Bylaw for tweaking if we feel it is necessary," said the mayor. "I think this is a reasonable way to move forward."
