Victoria slashes cost of pot retail licence

The City of Victoria is planning to drop the cost of a cannabis business licence to $1,500.

Council voted Thursday to have its legal department draft bylaws to reduce the licensing fee from $5,000 to $1,500 to better reflect the cost of recouping the city’s administrative costs for the licensing program.

City staff had calculated the cost of administering cannabis retail store licences is about $1,500, based on a projection of 30 licences each year.

Arguments were made for increasing the fee, with some councillors pointing out that other jurisdictions, such as Vancouver, charge as much as $13,500.

A City of Victoria staff report into Vancouver’s pricing model noted that city intends to phase in a reduction of licensing fees, starting with a fee of $13,500 for this year to minimize the impact on its operating budget.

Vancouver is expected to consider a further-reduced fee for 2023, which could be as low as $5,000, the cost-recovery level.

The staff report noted the Vancouver Charter allows that city to set licensing fees above the cost of program administration, like a tax. Victoria, under the Community Charter, cannot set fees above cost recovery.

Victoria’s legal department was directed to draft bylaws to schedule a public hearing on cannabis retail licensing, and ensure windows of cannabis retail stores are transparent and not blocked by translucent or opaque material, artwork, posters, shelving or display cases that prevent visibility into and out of the premises.

Councillors also voted to have staff review cannabis fee regulations every two years.