Cannabis zoning expansion accepted after public hearing

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John held a public hearing on a bylaw that will let cannabis retail shops expand into commercial zones C-3 and C-4 in the city.

Public input at the hearing was largely from the city’s business community and supportive of the expansion.

“The city must provide an environment that allows businesses to operate to the best of their abilities,” Jack Hynes, owner of On the Rocks Liquor, wrote in a letter of support.

“Limiting recreational cannabis to the downtown core denies a key competitive element for these businesses: location.”

On the Rocks Liquor has business licenses in progress for cannabis stores alongside their liquor store locations.

Heather Billati, also presenting on behalf of On the Rocks, noted that allowing the legal cannabis market to grow will negatively impact the illegal cannabis market — and help people using the drug do so with safer supplies.

Shannon Stange, a minister and businessman, also spoke in support of the bylaw amendment.

He warned against “ghetto-izing” cannabis marketing and retail, which can create “additional societal ills.”

“If we restrict something like that to a specific area… [it can] create a negative vortex in the community where businesses that counteract flee that area,” he continued.

Several other businesses wrote letters in support of the amendment, including construction companies, real estate agents, business insurance agents, and property management firms.

After the hearing, the bylaw was read for the third time and accepted.

The first stage of cannabis retail after its legalization in the northeastern economic hub was limited to the C-2 zone, or the downtown core. Cannabis retail’s expansion comes after monitoring these businesses in the city and high levels of interest from prospective business owners looking for space to set up shop.

The city’s monitoring report, presented last January, showed no negative social or economic impact on provincial or city resources.

It had been argued in previous council meetings that allowing businesses, no matter their product, to flock to the highway and main thoroughfares (which C-3 and C-4 zoning would allow cannabis retailers to do) would harm the character of the downtown core. 

It had also been argued, however, that not allowing this expansion smothers local business. The representation from Fort St. John’s business community— both businesses actively looking to sell cannabis and businesses that would aid cannabis retailers seeking new spaces —demonstrated its support for the bylaw amendment.