Where do we put the pot shop?

City and province meet to talk about locating new marijuana dispensary

KITCHENER — The province had its first meeting with Kitchener municipal staff since announcing earlier this month that the city would be home to one of the first government-run pot shops to open in Ontario by July.

On Tuesday, Waterloo Regional police and city staff met with representatives from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and the Ministry of Finance to discuss how a storefront location in the city will be selected.

“They’ve retained a real estate broker that the LCBO normally uses,” said Gloria MacNeil, director of enforcement at the City of Kitchener.

“(The province) will be engaging with them and letting them know, for example, what Kitchener’s criteria is and then that broker will start looking for sites that they think fit the agreed upon criteria.”

Earlier this month, the LCBO announced the first 14 municipalities to get an LCBO-run, standalone, recreational, cannabis store in July — when the federal government expects to legalize the substance.

LCBO and Ministry of Finance representatives are currently meeting with municipal staff from each city to determine guidelines that will be in place when choosing storefront locations. The province has already said that stores will not be close to schools — a decision that the City of Kitchener supports.

MacNeil said at Tuesday’s meeting the city was able to address concerns and suggestions for a possible storefront location, including that it be close to a main roadway and be easily accessible to people across the region.

“We felt that as part of their consideration that any retail store should be located close to (the) expressway or highway, on some sort of transit system where there is a bus route or Ion, and that there would be sufficient parking,” said MacNeil.

The LCBO also wants to hear from residents of the region on the matter and will soon be asking for feedback online, she said.

Going forward, the LCBO broker will be contacting the city with location suggestions to make sure they meet city zoning regulations.

MacNeil said, while there was no discussion about the potential increase in enforcement costs to the city on Tuesday, the province did provide some details about store operations.

“You’ll have to show ID at the door,” said

MacNeil. “If you’re not 19 you can’t enter, even if you’re accompanied by an adult.”

There will also be product experts in all stores. But, whether cannabis will be displayed behind a glass case or only detailed on menu boards has yet to be decided.

Ontario said it will identify more locations for its first 40 stores to be opened by July 2018, however, all consumers will be able to purchase cannabis through an online retail website.

The 13 other municipalities that are also getting a storefront location by July are: Barrie, Brampton, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury. Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan, and Windsor. The province plans to have 80 standalone stores opened by July 2019 and 150 by 2020.

The legal age to purchase, use, possess, and cultivate cannabis in Ontario will be 19 years of age.