The owner of the building that houses End of the Roll in Williams Lake will subdivide a 1,000 square foot parcel for a retail cannabis outlet if it gets approved.
“I wanted to keep everybody happy in the city and give George [Cheung] a chance to have his livelihood with the restaurant,” Michael Forbes said of the fact the original application by Flora was for a cannabis retail outlet in the building where the Ken’s Restaurant is located at 94 Second Avenue North.
When city council received Flora’s application from the LCRB on Nov. 20, Cheung told the Tribune he was surprised to learn that a cannabis shop was being proposed.
Read more: Ken’s Restaurant owners not planning to retire or open a cannabis shop
Presently Flora’s application is before the B.C. Liquor and Cannabis Regulations Branch (LCRB) in Victoria, with proposed hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday to Sunday.
The license stipulates there can be no drive-thru or outdoor retail or consumption permitted on the property.
Residents and owners of businesses located within a 0.8 kilometre radius of the proposed site may comment by writing to the Director of Legislative Services at the City of Williams Lake by Jan. 11, 2019.
During the Nov. 20 regular meeting, city council received a report on Flora’s application from city planner Hasib Nadvi noting it met the requirement of being more than 300 metres from an operational school, a licensed day care or the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex.
However, because the city’s zoning bylaw stipulates a cannabis store must be located at least 500 metres from another cannabis store, the application fell short because the address is 460 metres from an approved retail cannabis store in the 200 block of Mackenzie Avenue North.
Council encouraged Flora to apply for a development variance permit.
Forbes said he has been a pharmacist for 20 years.
“I am going to be doing some education in the city about cannabis,” he said. “Our shop will actually be a win and is going to bring more traffic to businesses around. It’s just another part of retail that’s going to add jobs and value to Williams Lake.”
Read more: WLIB embarking into cannabis industry with retail store planned for Williams Lake
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