FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – The City of Fort St. John is seeking public feedback on a proposed amendment to its cannabis zoning bylaw.
On August 8th, council voted to give the first and second readings to a bylaw that will allow cannabis shops to open in retail spaces throughout the city. The bylaw still requires a public hearing and a third reading before it is passed by council.
A public hearing on the matter will take place on August 22nd at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall.
The public will be allowed to make a presentation to council or present written submissions regarding the matters in the bylaw.
Cannabis stores are currently limited to C-2 zoning (or the downtown corridor). The bylaw before council will allow shops to be established in C-3 and C-4 zones. These zones, general commercial and highway commercial, respectively, will let marijuana retailers operate outside of downtown.
The new bylaw will contain the same restrictions within zones that the original zone maintained, which included setbacks of 200 metres from schools and 100 metres from parks.
Per this amendment, retail cannabis stores would be allowed in the dark brown, the bright red and the light pink areas.
A copy of the proposed bylaw and related documents can be viewed at City Hall, 10631 100th Street, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from August 19th to August 22nd.
Comments on the proposed amendments can be submitted by mail or hand delivered to City Hall: 10631 100th Street, Fort St. John, B.C. V1J 3Z5 Attention: Bonnie McCue, Corporate Officer.
Comments can also be emailed to legislativeservices@fortstjohn.ca.
Both options must be completed by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 19th.
The city would like to remind residents that they can watch the Public Hearing live or as a recording on the city’s website, Facebook page or YouTube channel.
With files from Grace Giesbrecht
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