Civic committee passes recommendation to have province determine retail weed locations

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This article was published 07/05/2018 (2943 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg is irresponsibly passing the buck on determining where to put cannabis stores, according to one local realtor.

The property and development, heritage and downtown development committee unanimously approved a public servant’s recommendation to give the province authority on determining retail locations for selling marijuana, similar to the way it chooses spots for liquor sales. The motion still needs to pass a council vote.

Avison Young realtor Ken Macdonald said this choice isn’t in keeping with other jurisdictions, such as the City of Brandon and other municipalities, which have determined their own buffer zones for cannabis sales. Macdonald suggested at least 300 metres between stores.

“This is affecting properties in Winnipeg and why should the liquor and gaming association, essentially, dictate land use?” Macdonald said, adding later: “This is a complete handoff by the city. It’s an election year, right? Nobody wants to get in front of it.”

According to the city report compiled by chief planner Braden Smith, cannabis store locations would be approved by Manitoba’s department of Growth, Enterprise and Trade and the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba, with input from a City of Winnipeg representative. The provincial and city staff will consider a marijuana store’s proximity to schools, recreation centres and religious institutions.

Smith said the city should hold off on passing any special zoning bylaws for cannabis stores, which are expected to open after the federal government legalizes cannabis later this year. Winnipeg will have up to 16 stores at the outset of legalization with locations approved “subject to the existing mechanism in place when selecting liquor store locations,” according to Smith’s report.

“The public service is confident in this process given that the province has demonstrated sound judgment and care with the placement of liquor stores throughout communities across the city,” Smith wrote.

St. Boniface councillor Matt Allard, who chairs the city’s cannabis co-ordination committee and sits on the property development committee, said it makes sense for the province to take the reins on this file since the provincial purview is wider and involves community health.

“I think we’re putting the authority at the right place in terms of not reinventing the wheel,” Allard said. “We know what works really well with alcohol sales. I can’t recall the last time there was conflict with an MLCC location. I know that it does happen, but I also know that the MLCC is very diligent and considers community impact and I don’t think it’s going to be any different.”

Two years after legalization, city staff will report back to council with a review of any land-use issues or complaints related to cannabis stores.

Customers can also forget about window shopping at future legal marijuana stores — the shops will have opaque windows if all goes according to plan.

In addition to non-transparent windows, Smith’s report said Winnipeg cannabis stores will feature “controlled access” and “basic signage,” and “will reflect a high-end shopping environment that has a bright, open concept.”

Cannabis stores, like liquor stores, will be treated as a “retail sales use, permitted wherever retail sales uses are permitted without necessitating a public hearing,” the report stated.

Four companies will operate Manitoba’s first crop of retail cannabis stores, though the provincial government plans to open the market up to more competition in the future.

The federal government’s cannabis legalization law is currently in the process of being amended by Senate committees before a final vote on or before June 7. Prime Minister Trudeau said last week that his government is “going to bring in legalization as we’ve committed to this summer on schedule.”

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu

solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter:@sol_israel