Four proposed cannabis retail outlets are either too close to Red Deer schools and trails or in neighbourhood commercial spaces that don’t allow marijuana sales.
Red Deer city council was asked to consider four proposed site exceptions on Monday.
One of these cannabis retail outlets would be within 300 metres of a day care and schools at Unit 5, 499 Timberlands Dr.
Another proposed location would face the Red Deer River trail system and is in a direct control district in Riverside Meadows (5120-58th St.), which does not permit cannabis sales.
A third is in the South Hill neighbourhood (Unit 3B, 2250-50th Ave.), which is zoned for regional shopping, but not cannabis sales.
A fourth is proposed for the Highland Green commercial shopping district at Unit 1, 88 Howarth St., which also doesn’t permit cannabis sales.
City Council was told Monday that it’s too soon to discuss whether any of these non-conforming locations could be made suitable — because no one even knows how well the approved locations will work.
Emily Damberger, the city’s planning manager, said there’s usually some precedent for seeing how things are going in other municipalities. But since legal cannabis sales are new right across the country, there is no information to draw from.
She suggested the four non-conforming proposals be tabled for 14 months — the same time frame council previously set for reviewing all approved cannabis retail locations.
Damberger suggested the four applicants keep their spots in the queue until their cases are heard by council. Since there’s a finite number of locations available for cannabis sales, she said it would be unfair to send them to the back of the line, since available spots might run out by the time their cases are considered.
Council opted to table the four requests for 14 months, and to keep the submitters in the queue in the meantime.