Olds will likely not have any cannabis retail stores open in time for the legalization of cannabis on Oct. 17 due to a split vote on one of two bylaws to regulate the product in town.
The bylaw would have made retail cannabis stores a discretionary use in areas like shopping centres, commercial and industrial areas.
During a public hearing held Sept. 10, no members of the public spoke against the bylaw. The bylaw then went to a second reading.
Before putting the bylaw to a vote, however, some councillors questioned whether the land use should be permitted as opposed to discretionary.
When something is a permitted use, town staff can approve it. If it's a discretionary use, it automatically goes before the Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) for approval. Even then, an MPC decision can be appealed.
If these land uses were labelled as permitted, the development office can approve an application as long as it meets all other regulations and requirements for that specific use.
Coun. Mary Anne Overwater pointed out that this was something that hadn’t been brought up in their discussions in regards to the bylaw.
“I’m just wondering about the discretionary use. Sometimes I think we get caught up in what council think should happen versus what the planning department thinks should happen,” Overwater said.
This sparked a debate amongst council on how to best label the various cannabis-related land uses.
On the other side of the argument, Coun. Wade Bearchell did not support the applications going through the MPC.
“I listen to some of us support the AGLC (Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission) rules, which treat them (cannabis retail stores) more like a liquor store and then now we have them going to MPC," he said.
“Unless someone has a better argument, I don’t understand why it has to go to the Municipal Planning Commission if you want to open a retail cannabis store when we’ve already laid out the rules for it.
“Why can’t our development authority just approve that based on that,” asked Bearchell.
A vote on the matter ended up in a three-three tie because Coun. Debbie Bennett was not present to tip the scales.
A tie vote in municipal council is automatically defeated.
Because second reading of the bylaw was defeated, a new bylaw governing the land use districts where retail cannabis can be sold would have to be brought before council. That means, due to time constraints, it is unlikely residents will be able to buy marijuana for recreational use from a retail outlet in Olds in time for legalization in mid-October.
Mayor Michael Muzychka spoke about the defeated bylaw after the meeting.
“It was a little bit disappointing but at the same time it shows that everyone on council has their own mind and that both sides of the argument were well presented,” he said.
