City tentatively approves first 14 cannabis retail shops

Six rejected on first day of process in preparation for Oct. 17 legalization

Fourteen cannabis retail shops in 11 Calgary neighbourhoods have been tentatively green-lighted by city officials who rejected another six applications.

Those receiving a positive decision — but which still must obtain a city business licence and provincial permit — were located in the Beltline, Signal Hill, Mount Pleasant, Rundle, Mission, Sunnyside, Bridgeland/Riverside, Coventry, South Calgary, Shawnee Slopes and East Shepherd Industrial areas.

Some of those refused were at the same address as bids that were given approval for a development permit, while others were within 300 metres of another approved location, which would violate a city-ordered exclusion distance between cannabis retailers.

“Some of the refusals might have also been based on proximity to things like schools, churches or daycares,” said senior special projects officer Brandy MacInnis.

The 20 decisions were made on Monday, the first day of the city’s processing of 261 applications in advance of Oct. 17, when recreational marijuana becomes legal.

The city hopes to make decisions on all the applications by Aug. 10.

“We’re happy with the timelines we’ve been meeting,” said MacInnis.

Three neighbourhoods — Mission, Signal Hill and the Beltline — each have two applications approved for development permits.

Darren Bondar, CEO of parent company Inner Spirit Holdings, hopes one of those locations receiving approval on 17 Avenue S.W. won’t cancel out a prospective Spiritleaf site a few doors away.

“I’m hoping the city can be subjective and grant an exemption, to recognize there’s room for more than one store,” he said.

“We’ll just have to roll with the punches. It’s a risk everyone recognizes.”

City officials have said proximity restrictions could be eased in some situations.

Even without a positive decision, the company’s gone ahead with issuing an initial public offering that’s raised $6 million to develop its franchises, said Bondar.

“We’re the first retail cannabis company in the world to do an IPO and it’s right out of Calgary,” he said.

Fred Pels noted a decision on one of his Calgary locations is pending and another under review.

“The one on 14 Street S.W. should be good, but it is frustrating,” said Pels, who operates The Green Room.

“It’s an exciting time. We’re ready to go, but it’s also uncertain.”

The city, he said, doesn’t base enough of its decisions on the track record of applicants such as him, who’s been in the medical cannabis business for years.

“I just wish there was some way they could review an applicant based on best practices on the operations of the companies,” said Pels.

One of the approved sites, on 4 Street S.W., won’t actually be constructed for two years and could unfairly disqualify nearby applicants, said Jeff Hines, who hopes to become a Spiritleaf franchisee. “It’s shocking,” he said. “There are a lot of unknowns, that’s for sure.”

Even so, the regulatory process leading to cannabis retail, particularly conducted by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, has been stellar, said Hines, who’s taken out liquor licences for several restaurants.

“The AGLC has done an amazing job in a very short amount of time,” he said.

The approvals are also subject to a three-week appeals period in which communities, nearby businesses and other prospective cannabis retailers can lodge objections.