Edmonton suggests ‘notwithstanding clause’ allowing cannabis retail stores in shopping malls that may violate distance restrictions
Four months into cannabis legalization, the City of Edmonton is recommending an exemption to the distance requirements for cannabis retail sales to allow stores in large shopping malls.
In a report heading to a city council public hearing Monday, the city is proposing a “new notwithstanding clause†on the current separation distances to exempt sites zoned as DC2, site specific development control division, or CSC, shopping centre zone greater than two hectares.
Current separation distances require a 200-metre distance between cannabis retail stores and libraries and schools as well as a 100-metre separation from parks, public recreation facilities and provincial health-care sites.
“While this approach is useful in protecting youth from being exposed to cannabis, it does not allow for flexibility when dealing with large, single-site developments, such as major shopping malls or undeveloped portions of land that have yet to be subdivided,†the report says.
This proposed change is to “provide an enhanced opportunity on large shopping mall sites†for cannabis retail stores to open that may have otherwise been constrained by the separation distances.
Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis has plans to open a retail store in West Edmonton Mall, the shopping centre says on its website. A retail development permit application for the proposed store has not yet been received by the city.
Distance restrictions of 200 metres between cannabis retail stores will remain in place, but the report says the proposed bylaw amendments will provide clarity on how this distance is measured.
“This clarification is recommend due to recent decisions of the Subdivision and Development Appeals Board that were grounded in a concern that the City had not been clear in its bylaws that it was expressly varying the provincial regulations,†the report says.
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