Would-be pot shop owners in Calgary abandon appeals as challenge process nears end

More than one-quarter of prospective cannabis shops once under appeal have been withdrawn by their proponents in a lengthy, often frustrating process that’s nearing its end in Calgary.

Of 114 pot store locations initially under appeal, 31 of the challenges were withdrawn by the applicants amid Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) hearings that began last summer.

As of Tuesday, 11 cases that were adjourned remained before the board, which fast-tracked dealing with a deluge of appeals by adding staff and tweaking procedures.

“We’re 90 per cent of the way through finalizing written decisions,” said Jeremy Fraser, manager of the city’s quasi-judicial boards.

While he didn’t say how many of the withdrawals were due to applicants’ exhaustion with a process that left many holding costly leases while awaiting a decision, he said frustration was evident.

“The rescheduling of the appeal process was challenging for the board and staff, and challenging for the parties involved,” said Fraser.

“But it did provide an earlier conclusion to appeals.”

Many entrepreneurs seeking to open shops have been paying double the normal rental rate for space they’ve yet to commercially use.

Of the 114 appeals, 28 were decided in favour of prospective shop owners who challenged the city’s initial refusals or appeals against them by competitors or residents.

Thirty city refusals against cannabis store locations were upheld by the SDAB, while another 11 proposals were struck down in the process.

Refusals were based on pot stores being located too close to schools, daycares or other marijuana outlets.

Fred Pels said his Green Room chain of stores prevailed in two of its three appeals through the SDAB.

It lost a third appeal to a competitor that had applied more quickly for a nearby location in the Beltline.

Despite the lengthy struggle to land the two sites, Pels said he hasn’t been deterred.

“We’ve made it this far, we’ll stick around,” he said, adding the process reflects the turmoil of recreational marijuana legalization.

“It shows how fast the feds pushed this on the provincial and municipal governments, but I think we’ve all done the best we can.”

He said the next hurdle for his locations and dozens of competitors is the provincial moratorium on new marijuana stores introduced last November in response to cannabis supply shortages.

Provincial regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis has limited the number of its cannabis store licences to 75, with 24 of those in Calgary.

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on Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn