Let market decide number of cannabis retail stores?

A limit on the number of cannabis stores in West Kelowna could be lifted by city council.

Several city councillors have signalled their support for eliminating the six-store maximum on pot shops.

There have been few negative consequences associated with the six stores that have been permitted by the city so far, councillors said, and they indicated it might be time to let the market decide how many such businesses operate in West Kelowna.

“The impact has been negligible to nothing,” Coun. Rick De Jong said, referring to earlier concerns in some quarters that the proliferation of pot shops might give a tawdry appearance to business districts or lead to an uptick in crime.

Rather than concerning itself with how many pot shops there are in West Kelowna, the city should only be interested in ensuring the stores are welldesigned and attractive, De Jong said.

Coun. Jason Friesen also indicated he would support letting the market determine the number of pot shops

Kelowna.

Municipal staff originally planned to bring a review of the six-store limit for pot shops to council this fall, but that timeline has been derailed by the COVID19 pandemic. Planning manager Brent Magnan told council the review will be forthcoming as soon as possible.

A discussion on potentially lifting the store limit arose out of a debate on whether to allow the provincial government to switch its previously approved but asyet-unbuilt pot shop from a 7,000square-foot unit in the Westbank Towne Centre stripmall to a unit of less than 1,000 sq. ft.

The government had sought permission to rezone the smaller premises to accommodate a pot shop, saying it needed the more compact space because of the economic uncertainties posed by the pandemic. But council voted against initiating the necessary rezoning process.

The previous approval for the 7,000-sq.ft unit was left in place.

As a result, city manager Paul Gipps said, the message from the city to the government is: “You’ve got a place. Use it, or come back with something else.”

in West