POT STORE OPENINGS IN LIMBO
Appeals likely to delay some outlets from selling cannabis on Oct. 17
The opening of some Calgary cannabis stores by the Oct. 17 legalization date is almost certain to be considerably delayed due to a deluge of appeals taxing city resources.
Over the past month, the Calgary subdivision and development appeal board has agreed to hear 78 appeals targeting city approvals or refusals of pot shop applications.
“It received 119 appeals in total last year, so this is quite a volume,” said Jeremy Fraser, manager of quasi-judicial boards, of which the group is one.
“We’ve received quite a surge of appeals in the past month.”
The subdivision and development appeal board has only this week begun hearing appeals.
It’s highly unlikely all those appeals will be heard by Oct. 17, when recreational marijuana legalization comes into effect, along with lawful retailing of the drug, said Fraser.
“I’m not sure if that’s going to be achievable,” he said. “It’ll take the board some time to get through the caseload. They have to set aside enough time to hear the appeals, the witnesses and their legal counsel.”
City officials have nearly completed their review of 266 cannabis shop applications, and as of last week, had approved 117 of them, while 110 have been rejected under proximity criteria that they were too close to other proposed pot stores, schools, playgrounds, hospitals or other sensitive amenities.
Of those, dozens have been appealed, which can be done within 21 days of the city’s initial ruling approving or refusing their locations.
Both sides argue their case before panels of five to seven board members from a full agency complement of 20 and “all board members will be involved in these appeals at one time or another due to the volume,” said Fraser.
Would-be cannabis store operators like Angus Taylor of the New Leaf chain say time is of the essence for appeals and final approvals.
“The most important thing for us is that it’s expedient,” said Taylor, who’s appealing a city refusal on a site on Centre Street N.