Kelowna’s pot shops will face new rezoning fees

KELOWNA — Would-be pot-shop owners, not the taxpaying public, should finance the cost of their applications for retail cannabis stores, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says. Council on Monday approved fees of more than $10,000 to process the applications that reach the rezoning stage.

While far higher than fees for other rezoning charges, city staff defended the proposal as reasonable given the complexity of the cannabis licensing system and the time and resources needed to evaluate each pot-shop application.

If a cost-recovery model wasn’t used, Basran said, it would fall to taxpayers to pick up the tab for processing potshop applications.

Everyone who submits a pot-shop application to the City of Kelowna between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30 will have to pay a non-refundable fee of $1,000.

Those submissions deemed by a seven-member city team to be most in compliance with various city objectives will be advanced to council for consideration.

To get to council, would-be pot-shops owners will have to pay another fee, of $9,495, also non-refundable.

The fees reflect the planning department’s best-guess concerning the cost of legal services, and resources and time needed to evaluate the applications, community planning manager Ryan Smith told council.

Council voted 8-1 to approve the fees, with Coun. Charlie Hodge opposed. “I just find it a little high, almost punitive,” Hodge said of the fees.