New federal laws taking effect October 17
The federal government has officially announced its date for cannabis legalization.
Cities across the country will have between now and October 17th to get their ducks in a row.
Kelowna Planning Director Doug Gilchrist says a big question the city needs to answer is where pot retailers will be allowed to operate.
"We are looking at things like land use, in particular, and the appropriate locations for any legalized retail sales, and things such as proximity regulations – to one another, and to things like schools, and parks, and other institutions," he said.
He says staff have been working since the beginning of last year to develop local bylaws and zoning guidelines, which has included talking to some of those dispensaries.
"We have talked to some industry folks that plan to be in that business, so that we (can) try and be aligned with some of the hopes and dreams of people who will be either growing or retailing. But also making sure we're looking out and protecting (the) interests of our community."
Though the province will be in charge of approving retail licenses, Gilchrist says it's still up to the city to decide where they'll be allowed to operate.
"We expect there's going to be a fair bit of work for us, especially at the outset. Council will have some decisions to make on how many they want in the community, do they want to cap it? Do they want to enforce some sort of (minimum) distance?" he said.
"So there'll be some recommendations, or a suite of options, coming forward from staff to council for them to consider, hopefully in the next month or so."
Along with land use, he says the other big component is enforcement, and what exactly the city's responsibilities will be for that.
Staff are waiting to hear back from the province on exactly what its enforcement expectations are.
