Port McNeill council put it to a vote, hands went up in the air, and now cannabis shops will be allowed to operate inside the town’s jurisdiction.
A report from the Cannabis Advisory Committee was received by council on Sept. 4, with five recommendations included that they felt the town should adopt, which are as follows:
1. That Port McNeill council allow the retail sales of non-medicinal cannabis within the Town of Port McNeill;
2. That Port McNeill council allow the retail sales of non-medicinal cannabis retail in only the Commercial 1 and Commercial 2 zones of the Port McNeill Zoning Bylaw;
3. That Port McNeill council provide an exception in the zoning bylaw for the property at 2161 McNeill Road to prohibit the retail sale of non-medicinal cannabis;
4. That Port McNeill council accept the store hours as provided by the provincial guidelines, which are 8:00 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and
5. That Port McNeill council not make any changes to the Business Licensing Bylaw regarding non-medicinal cannabis retail businesses.
Council had two options regarding the report, to either approve the recommendations or to refuse them and then provide direction to staff.
“I’m going to turn over comments and information about this to the (committee) chair, which is Shelley (Downey),” said Mayor Shirley Ackland.
Downey said the topic has been a very low-key subject of discussion for the committee, meaning the group were very levelheaded and rational in their thought processes, “and you see that reflected in the recommendations that have come forward.”
She also noted the town will need to create a smoking bylaw once legalization happens, and that the committee still has to finish discussing whether to allow cultivation (growing of cannabis) within the town’s boundaries.
“If we did have applications to open up stores within our town, there is a public consultation required,” Downey noted. “There are opportunities for public input when it comes to actually locating these businesses within our town boundaries.”
“Excellent work - is there anything in the documents you’ve read about the amount of retail stores?” asked Coun. Jay Dixon. “Is there any language around that?”
“The committees thoughts were the market will dictate how many will be supported, so there is no cap recommendation from the committee,” answered Downey.
“Have you talked about the affects it’s going to have on our hospitals and our police here?” asked Coun. Graham MacDonald.
“I don’t know what we can do about that,” replied Downey.
Ackland noted the town can only control the zoning areas for cannabis shops inside the town’s jurisdiction, everything else is dealt with on a provincial and federal level.
Once the discussion wound down, the time came to either approve the recommendations or refuse them.
“What’s your pleasure, councillors?” asked Ackland.
“I’ll make the motion (to approve),” stated Coun. Aaron Frost. “I’m comfortable with the recommendations from the committee.”
Frost then clarified he’s comfortable with the recommendations because there is public consultation that still has to happen.
MacDonald seconded Frost’s motion to approve the recommendations.
Dixon noted before voting commenced that he wasn’t worried that The Gazette was reporting on the meeting, and he still feels there is a large part of the community that would like council “to not adjust our zoning bylaws and to tell people to purchase it elsewhere.”
After that, it was time to vote.
Ackland, Downey, Frost, and MacDonald all voted in favour of approving the committee’s recommendations, while Dixon was the lone vote to refuse and provide direction to staff.
The Town of Port McNeill will now have to amend the bylaw that they had previously passed that prohibited the sale of cannabis inside the town’s boundaries.