Proposal for pot shop raises worries
For Minh-Chau Prystupa, the idea of one of B.C.'s flashier marijuana retailers opening up shop within blocks of an elementary school in her Yaletown neighbourhood is simply unacceptable.
The local mother is campaigning against a bid by Inspired Cannabis to open its third Vancouver location at 220 Davie St. The site, Prystupa said, doesn't jibe with the city's rules barring cannabis stores within 300 metres of schools, community centres and other marijuana retailers, and the area is just too heavily trafficked by youngsters for the shop to fit in.
“We know it's legal” Prystupa said. “It's legal for adults. I get it. But this will be literally yelling out cannabis to children and youth in the neighbourhood. There's a concentration of them. It's a residential neighbourhood that happens to be in an urban area.”
Prystupa described the appearance of the retailer's freshly opened Robson Street location to give a sense of what she feared would come to Yaletown. The shop's design is “like advertising,” she said, “fully lit up with the word cannabis,” and sporting a sandwich board decorated with a marijuana leaf on the sidewalk out front. The store name is written out in red and gold marquee letters, helping the shop stand out.
Jen Smythe, director of operations at Inspired Cannabis, said the company's storefronts are in full compliance with government regulation, with full window frosting, coverings and obstructions blocking views inside.
“As our society continues to transition away from full prohibition, with legalization in October 2018, we recognize that this is not a straight line, and dialogue continues within our communities,” Smythe said.
She described the managing partners of the company as being fully invested in the lives of their own kids and as people who would never try to influence minors. Smythe said Inspired Cannabis asks for the identification of any customer who looks under 30 years old, and said the company is very aware that failing to manage compliance would risk their licensing. She said she hoped people recognized that the legal cannabis market is better than an unregulated black market.
When asked why a cannabis retailer would be inappropriate for Yaletown, a neighbourhood packed with bars and restaurants, where beer, wine and drinks flow freely on outdoor patios, Prystupa said those businesses are largely on streets some distance from the largest concentrations of residents.
The city has received a retail development application for the proposed cannabis shop. A comment period on that application was slated to end March 29. Feedback the city received, as well as distancing regulations, will be considered before a decision is made, staff said in a written statement.
The walk from the proposed storefront to Elsie Roy Elementary School is about 350 metres. But city staff don't measure that way, instead taking the distance from the nearest property line to nearest property line. The straight line distance between the two buildings appears to be closer to 200 metres, and 220 Davie St. is just across Pacific Boulevard from the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.
Several cannabis shops that didn't meet the city's land-use and distancing requirements and were denied a permit have gone on to appeal to and receive approval from the city's board of variance, staff said.