PENHOLD – The town is now ready to welcome retail cannabis shops.
At a regular council meeting on Aug. 27, Penhold council passed an amendment to the Land Use Bylaw that included cannabis definitions, following a public hearing and second and third reading.
There was no public feedback or participation at the hearing.
“There were some people in attendance for the council meeting but nobody spoke (on the amendment) for the public hearing,” said Mike Yargeau, Penhold mayor. “I wasn’t overly surprised (at the lack of participation). It’s not something, especially on the retail side, that we’ve heard a lot of feedback on.
“We have been getting more and more feedback through social media about consumption and that side of things," he added. "The retail side hasn’t really drawn a lot of interest as far as the Land Use Bylaw part goes.”
Yargeau said council also clarified other specifications about the amendment, including home-based business definitions relating to cannabis.
“You can’t have a home-based business (pertaining to retail cannabis),” said Yargeau. “We needed to clarify things because cannabis will be legal (on Oct. 17), but a home-based business licence for retail cannabis sales is not something you can apply for.
“That bylaw is strictly dealing with retail sales of cannabis, not consumption,” he added. “It doesn’t deal with consumption in public places, that falls under the Community Standards Bylaw, which we referred to our next council meeting (Sept. 10).”
Yargeau did say that cannabis shops have approached the Town of Penhold with inquiries.
“We have had several businesses express interest,” said Yargeau. “I don’t know how quickly it’ll happen but I would assume sometime within the next year there’s going to be some applications to open up a retail cannabis shop in Penhold,” he said.
“Once it becomes legal to sell and we’re approached by a business who applies for a development permit, we’ve got the rules already set,” Yargeau concluded.
