By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: September 5, 2018
Former councillor Bryan Raiser is seeking a variance from the district on a zoning bylaw which requires a cannabis dispensary must not be located within 300 metres of a school.
Raiser currently operates a cannabis dispensary called 99 North on Second Avenue, but wants to move it to a bigger location in Squamish Station Shopping Centre, into the former Source store close to TD Canada Bank, right next to the Quiznos on Hunter Place.
“Most didn’t even want to talk about this. It looks like the community is ready for this.”
The proposed location for Raiser’s cannabis store is only 35 metres from the property line of the Squamish Elementary School, and hence the request for variance.
Raiser said he has been seeking feedback from the district as well as the community and that feedback has been positive.
“Most didn’t even want to talk about this. It looks like the community is ready for this,” he said.
Raiser said he is proud of the part that he has played in ‘normalizing’ the plant, and he says all levels of governments are working on how to best regulate the cannabis industry with looming legalisation.
“All levels of government are making moves—all levels admit it will be an evolving process for the first few years,” he said.
The application for the variance will come before council on September 25.
Raiser is not the only one seeking a variance.
Another applicant is requesting a variance to the bylaw to allow a dispensary within 200 metres of another dispensary on Second Avenue.
District rules say the dispensary isn’t permitted within 300 metres of the nearest property line of a site containing another Marijuana Dispensary.
The proponents of this new dispensary want district to reduce the distance from 300M to 200M to locate a dispensary at 37893, Second Avenue.
Besides the 300 metre rule for schools and other cannabis stores, the district doesn’t allow cannabis dispensary within 300 metres of the nearest property line of the site containing the Squamish Youth Resource Centre, the Squamish Skateboard Park, and Carson Place Park, located at 38648 Buckley Avenue or where relocated from time to time.
The district also doesn’t allow a dispensary on land parcels with frontage on Cleveland Avenue.
To read the local bylaws about operating a cannabis business, click here (see page 11).
