The first cannabis store to open for business in the City of Delta had a grand opening last weekend and even more legal cannabis shops could be on the horizon.
In January, council approved a rezoning application by Inspired Cannabis Co. for a non-medical cannabis retail store at the Delta Shoppers Centre at 8077 Scott Road.
Receiving a licence from the province and business licence from the city, the store opened Saturday with a steady stream of people checking out the new outlet.
Across the street on Scott Road is the City of Surrey where cannabis stores are still prohibited.
Meantime, Delta council has already given the green light for an application by Seed & Stone for a cannabis dispensary at 616 Chester Road on Annacis Island, the first application approved by the city.
According to the company’s website, that store is expected to open April 20.
The planning department told the Optimist that staff are currently processing four more dispensary applications.
Yet to come to council for discussion and possible preliminary approval, which would trigger a public hearing process, Imagine Cannabis is proposing to open a non-medical cannabis store at the Ladner Centre shopping mall.
The applicant originally proposed opening an outlet in a unit next to the Dairy Queen but has since amended the application to open a store in a different unit in the same complex.
The city is also processing three other applications, one on Scott Road in North Delta and two on River Road.
Meanwhile, council last week granted preliminary approval, in order to send to a public hearing, two applications for Tsawwassen, both located in the area of 56th Street and 12th Avenue.
One of the rezoning proposals is by Queensborough Cannabis Co. for a vacant retail outlet at a strip mall at 1274 56 St. The other application is from Imagine Cannabis for a unit at Bayside Village Mall at 1179 56 St.
An application from the provincial government for a cannabis dispensary at the Scottsdale Centre was discussed at a public hearing in February and that proposal received third reading by council.
That application will require final consideration and adoption from council at a future meeting, but a further licence from the province is not required as the store would be operated by B.C.’s Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch.
Late last year, council instructed staff not to accept and process any further cannabis store applications until the city has dealt with the current batch.
Council has not directed city staff to prepare locational criteria for cannabis dispensaries and each application is looked at on a case-by-case basis.
When applications are brought forward for consideration, staff reports include information on locational attributes of each site as well as proximity to parks and schools and to other dispensary applications either approved or under review, the planning department explains.
