Pot shops expected to top out around 24

Though Kelowna hasn’t set limit for number of cannabis stores in city, location rule is expected to curb their spread

No cap is currently being contemplated on the number of pot shops that might open in Kelowna, city council heard Monday.

And would-be owners of cannabis stores will not have to undergo the same kind of detailed scrutiny to which earlier applicants were subjected.

However, a city rule that pot shops be located at least 500 metres from one another should effectively limit their total number to about two dozen.

Any pot-shop applications that are submitted for a location within 500 metres of another cannabis store would, if forwarded to council, likely will come with a negative recommendation, planner Dean Strachan said.

West Kelowna has set a five pot-shop limit, Vernon has limited the number to six in the downtown area, and New Westminster is allowing five pot shops.

The City of Kelowna received 35 pot-shop proposals during an application window last fall.

Each was subject to a review that included assessments of the business plan, owner’s background, location suitability, proximity to parks and security provisions.

Fifteen applications, including four chosen by lottery, were eventually accepted to move through the rezoning process. Seven have now been approved by city council, but none has opened because the necessary provincial authorization has not been received.

From this point forward, anyone can bring forward a pot-shop rezoning proposal, including people whose original submission did not get through the first application window.

“We would hope they’ve gone back to make it a stronger application,” Strachan said of those whose first submission was deemed unworthy of bringing to council.

The 500-metre minimum setback from other pot shops should effectively limit the number of pot shops that will open in Kelowna even in the absence

of a hard cap, Mayor Colin Basran said.

Last year, city planners estimated the setback provisions meant about 20 pot shops might eventually be allowed in Kelowna.

However, as with any rezoning application, city councillors would be free to grant a variance to the setback requirement after holding a public hearing.