Hamilton has reviewed 27 proposals for new pot shops since March

Some have drawn the ire of residents who say some neighbourhoods should be considered off limits

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has received more than two-dozen applications for proposed retail cannabis stores in Hamilton since March — a figure which could see the number of pot shop locations in the city increase eightfold.

The city’s cannabis licensing team has already reviewed 22 of the 27 applications submitted to the AGCO.

Eleven of the applications are listed as “in progress” — indicating they’ve been vetted with public concerns and resubmitted to the AGCO for formal review — while another 11 are listed under “public notice” status — a two-week period for residents to petition against nearby store proposals. Five applications are awaiting city review.

Twenty of the proposed store locations are in the former city of Hamilton, three in Stoney Creek, two in Ancaster, and one each in Dundas and Waterdown.

While the AGCO won’t issue new store authorizations until the provincial state of emergency order has been lifted, the proposed locations would bring Hamilton’s total pot shop count to 31, up from the four stores currently in operation.

It’s a change from when city council hotly debated whether to allow any legal pot shops in Hamilton before legalization. An 8-8 tie vote last year narrowly cleared the way for legal retail cannabis to be sold in town. But vendors still face challenges.

The cannabis team reviews each application, which requires stores to be at least 300metres from schools, parks, daycares, libraries, community centres, and addiction and health centres. They also canvas residential addresses and business within that area.

The team’s review is then sent to the ACGO, which makes the final call.

Some recent proposals have drawn the ire of residents and councillors who say the city’s 300-metre threshold isn’t enough and that residential neighbourhoods should be considered off-limits to pot sellers.

Take 420Love, for example, a pot shop proposed at 976 Main St. E. It’s steps away from Gage Park and about 400-metres from Hamilton’s Children Museum, but meets the province’s only requirement of being at least 150-metres from a school.

“It’s four minutes away from the city-owned museum, and children come there from all across the city. I don’t think we need a pot shop when you have family and children walking there,” said Dave Belland, a nearby resident who has submitted complaints regarding the store’s location to the AGCO.

Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson said he’s been flooded with calls of concern about Cannabis Roll, which has applied to take the place of a former variety store on Hatton Drive in Ancaster. He says there are concerns about the location, which is densely populated with young families and long-term residents.

“It’s pretty clear it’s the wrong location. There’s a bus stop for schools there where children walk by on foot to get to and from school,” Ferguson said.

Besides two schools and a children’s centre being within a two-kilometre radius from the proposed location, there’s already another established pot shop, Ancaster Joint, about a five-minute drive away, Ferguson said.

Meanwhile, a third cannabis store, AB Laboratories, has been proposed at 1428 Sandhill Drive, a three-minute drive from Ancaster Joint and within five-kilometres of the proposed Cannabis Roll.