Council has approved temporary use permits to two local businesses seeking to operate retail cannabis stores in the city.
Zaga’s Enterprises Ltd. was approved for a retail store located at 1543 Victoria Street and Justin Mousseau and Ted Brown for Susan Kuharski were approved for retail store located at 484 Douglas Street, where the Mai Thai Restaurant was located.
The temporary use permits allow a short-term use that does not comply with the zoning bylaw. Under the Local Government Act, a temporary use permit may be issued for a maximum of three years, and may only be renewed once for an additional three years. Following the expiration of the proposed permit, the applicant must apply for a zoning bylaw amendment, cease the use, or relocate to a property that supports the proposed uses.
The city can also revoke the permit at any time.
“We’ve been around for quite a while,” said Jeannie Brunette, director of Zaga’s. “We’ve been 15 years in business … We are pretty well known in the community”
She said customers have been asking when they will begin selling cannabis and so they decided to move into selling cannabis.
The second application comes from the managers of the BX Beer and Wine Store.
“We have diligently planned a brand new store that is state-of-the-art and which we feel will appeal to the middle-class consumers of this product,” said Ted Brown, one of the proponents of the Shire Green Retail Cannabis Store.