Councillors seek new look at opaque business windows

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2021 (1877 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Winnipeg city councillors fear walls of opaque pot store windows could hurt the look of some streets.

“Clusters” of cannabis stores are popping up in some areas, with view-blocking windows that “negatively impact the esthetic value of our commercial retail streets,” according to a motion from Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski), seconded by Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan).

Sharma stressed she’s not concerned with the appearance of any one individual pot store but numerous such windows in close proximity could mar a street’s image. The city requires the stores to have opaque windows.

“Blank walls along sidewalks can impact the esthetic value of neighbourhood commercial streets if not done properly… The issue is the city at this time does not have any guidelines that need to be followed,” Sharma said in an email to the Free Press.

For example, a large number of pot stores now operate on McPhillips Street with some enhanced by images and graphics, elements the city could consider requiring for all of the stores, she said.

“Curb appeal is important, so we want to make sure that the stores are protecting the privacy of their customers, but at the same time there could be design elements incorporated that complement the area,” she said.

The motion could also lead the city to explore a possible minimum distance between cannabis stores and/or call for them to be located a minimum distance away from schools, said Eadie.

“The legalization of cannabis is fine, but you don’t want this to influence kids getting into (certain) lifestyle choices.”

Currently, the city permits cannabis stores to be built anywhere retail is allowed. In the past, the province helped review possible locations but senior government phased out the practice last year.

Josh Giesbrecht, owner/operator of Uncle Sam’s Cannabis in the Exchange District, said he would prefer the opaque window requirement be removed entirely.

“It’s not welcoming and it almost hides us in some ways… As soon as you add the opaque windows, it does make the whole strip mall that (a cannabis store is) in not look as esthetically pleasing,” said Giesbrecht.

He opposed the idea of mandated buffer zones between such stores and schools.

“We’re not allowed, in any way, to have advertising that references or caters to anyone underage. That’s a hard law by Health Canada… so I don’t really see (the school buffer zone) as a huge difference maker.”

John Arbuthnot, chief executive officer and co-founder of Delta 9 Cannabis, said he would also like the opaque window requirement to end, though largely for safety reasons. The rule has already been scrapped in Alberta after robberies took place inside stores no one on the street could see, he said.

“This obviously represents a safety risk,” he said, adding the rule was intended to prevent minors from viewing cannabis products, a step he’s not convinced is needed.

Should the city restrict where a cannabis store can be built, such rules could drastically reduce possible locations and hinder the industry’s growth, he said.

“You want to consider competition, you want to consider what’s best for the neighbourhood, but you also want to consider, in any restriction, are there unintended consequences here that may go the wrong way?”

The motion to study additional rules for cannabis stores has been referred to council’s property and development committee.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga