DIDSBURY - A development permit issued for a proposed retail cannabis store in the town’s downtown has been cancelled.
During its Oct. 24 meeting, Didsbury’s Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) gave approval for Bud Mart to locate at 1908-20th Street.
Local resident Kevin Bentley submitted a notice of appeal to the Intermunicipal Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (ISDAB) stating that the proposed retail cannabis store was within 100 metres of Didsbury Career High School (DCHS), reasoning that it is considered a "school" for the purpose of the provincial legislation. The province requires retail outlets to be a minimum of 100 metres away from schools.
Bentley said he filed the appeal because "it was such an obvious situation where provincial legislation was not being followed.
"The onus falls on MPC as to why, and on what basis, who promoted that idea to the town and MPC, and on what basis did they believe DCHS was not a school?" said Bentley. "How can a supposed independent body make such a egregious decision?"
Bentley's appeal contained a letter from Chinook's Edge School Division superintendent Kurt Sacher stating that DCHS is considered a school by the division and Alberta Education under the School Act.
An ISDAB appeal board hearing was set for Dec. 6 but was cancelled because town administration had already cancelled the development permit.
"The cannabis retail sales located at 1908 - 20th Street was not aligned with the conditions of their issued development permit or the AGLC (Alberta Gaming Liquor Cannabis) as such the planning department cancelled the development permit," said Matthew Konowalchuk, the town's manager of planning and development services.
MPC chair Norm Quantz said members were not aware there was a school within 100 metres of the property.
"I think there is a lot of progress that needs to be made in terms of the AGLC and the clarification of some of the nuances in the bylaw and so that is something that will be developing over time," said Quantz. "There was not an awareness of that being an issue."
The Town of Didsbury has issued two other development permits for retail cannabis stores including one for Didsbury Cannabis Mart at 1602 - 20th St., which was proposed by the same applicant as the Bud Mart store. The other development permit was issued for a proposed Cannabis Cowboy location at 2102 - 20th St.
The Town of Carstairs has approved a development permit for a retail cannabis store at 1115 Hammond St.
However, none of the proposed stores in either town have been issued a licence from AGLC, which is necessary to open a retail cannabis store in Alberta.
Because of a national recreational cannabis shortage, AGLC says it may be months if not more than a year before it issues any more licences than the 65 already approved throughout the province.
In a statement released on Nov. 21, Alain Maissonneuve, president and CEO of AGLC, stated that, "Due to the national shortage, AGLC is temporarily suspending accepting new applications and issuing any additional cannabis retail licenses until further notice."
