Olds town council has decided the minimum distance that cannabis retail stores can be located from things like schools, provincial buildings, parks and each other.
Across the board the minimum separation is 150 metres.
This is roughly the distance between the west Tim Hortons and the BMO.
Council made that decision after a public hearing that was held last week.
However there aren’t separation distances for everything in town.
The ones that were decided on that need to meet this minimum distance are other cannabis stores, schools, provincial health-care buildings, libraries, indoor community recreational centres, public parks, and municipal reserves.
The places that cannabis retail stores don’t need to have a minimum distance from are liquor stores, post- secondary schools and emergency shelters.
Council initially was divided on the minimum separation distances.
Some councillors like Wade Bearchell felt it would be best to follow in the footsteps of Edmonton, which saw a mix of 100 metres and 200 metres.
Others such as Coun. Mary Anne Overwater felt it best not to be restrictive and was in favour of the lowest distances possible.
Council then went through each potential minimum separation distance location and decided to compromise, settling on 150 metres.
“We didn’t want to go with the absolute minimum setbacks but we didn’t want to make it overly restrictive as well,” said Mayor Michael Muzychka. “So I think we found a happy balance."
Also included in the bylaw are definitions for different cannabis-related specifics such as a cannabis lounge.
A cannabis lounge as described in the bylaw is an establishment in which the primary purpose is for public consumption of cannabis.
While this bylaw was passed, as the Albertan reported last week, Olds won’t see any cannabis retail stores active in time for legalization due to another related bylaw which was defeated.
