Unease over pot shops in East Village
Proximity to shelters sparks concerns
The arrival of pot shops could threaten years of progress in rehabilitating the once-blighted downtown East Village, say some of those who work and live there.
Among the strongest opponents of a proposed trio of cannabis stores is Canada’s largest homeless shelter, the Calgary Drop-In Centre, which would be about 250 metres from two of the retail outlets.
In a letter to the Calgary Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, the stores are described by Drop-in Centre executive director Sandra Clarkson as a potential magnet for undesirable activity in an area still facing social challenges.
“While it has seen amazing changes in the past decade, East Village is still in the process of transformation and the community continues to contend with some legacy social issues,” she wrote. "(Cannabis stores) will put even more pressure on the area’s vulnerable populations.”
She noted the Calgary Municipal Land Corp., which oversees the area’s development, is also opposed to the stores.
For years, a liquor store operated immediately adjacent to the DropIn Centre.
Two of the proposed pot retail sites have been rejected by city regulators as having potentially “negative impacts” on adjacent residents and being less than the required 300 metres from an approved cannabis store at nearby 535 8th Ave. S.E.
But the prospective owners of both rejected stores are appealing
They’re valid concerns — like anyone in the area, I’m incredibly sensitive to homeless shelters.
those decisions.
An appeal against the 8th Avenue location has been dropped and the store could open if granted provincial approval.
That store would be located about a block from another area homeless shelter, the Salvation Army Centre of Hope.
In a letter to the appeal board, residents of the area such as Holger and Renske Matthiesen noted the neighbourhood currently faces an opioid abuse problem that a community safe-consumption van is expected to mitigate.
“An approval of a cannabis retail outlet at the location … is completely contrary to efforts to address the drug issues in East Village,” said the pair, who’ve lived in the area since 2016. “Failure in this regard is not an option.”
Some addictions experts say cannabis could be useful in reducing or mitigating the opioid abuse.
A man who hopes to open a cannabis shop in East Village at 615 Confluence Way S.E. said he fully understands community skepticism over such businesses.
“They’re valid concerns — like anyone in the area, I’m incredibly sensitive to homeless shelters,” said the man, who didn’t want his identity or the name of his prospective store published.
A resident of East Village, he said such a store could improve the community by increasing foot traffic that deters crime.
“There’s a plethora of evidence from U.S. states where it’s legalized that there can be benefits,” said the man, adding he’s a researcher on social issues.
He’s also appealing city regulators’ rejection of his proposed store, with a hearing scheduled for Feb. 1.
“I’m from East Village, I love East Village and I’ve done my due diligence,” he said. “I wouldn’t be appealing if I didn’t believe there was true merit in my application.”
About 100 appeals have been launched against approvals and refusals of store applications — a backlogged process that now has hearings scheduled into February.
Some retail applicants have expressed frustration over the time the process is taking, ensuring even if the appeal board rules in their favour, they ’ll open well after the Oct. 17 cannabis legalization date.
Opposition to cannabis stores is only one form of pushback against legalized cannabis, which has extended to bans on use in public, in rental properties, post-secondary institutions, among Calgary police officers and the rejection of designated consumption sites.