Town council’s ongoing discussion of retail cannabis sales in Osoyoos took a tentative step forward Monday when council told administration it wants stores zoned on a site-specific basis.

This means that each application for a retail cannabis outlet will be assessed by council on a case-by-case basis. That is the approach that Gina MacKay, director of planning and development, has been recommending.

Council’s motion at the committee of the whole meeting simply directs administration to draw up a bylaw amendment, which will come back to council for review and approval.

The lone dissenter was Councillor Mike Campol, who said that requiring a council decision and public hearing on every application will take up time of council and administration and will result in the cannabis issue being debated over and over at public hearings.

“I just think we need to not make this overly complex,” said Campol, pointing out that those who want to open a business under site-specific zoning will need to “roll the dice” and hope that the council of the day agrees on a location.

“So I’m firmly against the site-specific zoning,” he said.

The debate pitted him against Councillor C.J. Rhodes, who said that new maps provided by MacKay showing buffers around Osoyoos Elementary School and the different commercial zones in town made the issue more clear for him.

“I have now changed my mind considerably,” said Rhodes. “I’m very much in favour of the site-specific method of working through this. My reasoning behind it is the complexity of the zoning is beyond anything that I could ever figure out in my mind.”

Rhodes said Osoyoos isn’t a regular town because it’s not all straight lines and the highway meanders through town.

A previous attempt by administration to get direction from council resulted in a 50-minute discussion on July 3, but only one decision was reached – to prohibit government-run cannabis outlets in Osoyoos.

Council chose in March not to conduct a public consultation on the issue.

A new report by administration attempts to focus council’s discussion on the key planning decisions that must be decided.

Among the questions council was asked to consider are:

• Where cannabis sales will be restricted (i.e. proximity to schools or parks);

• If cannabis sales will be permitted directly on Main Street;

• Which commercial zones will allow cannabis sales;

• Whether to adopt “site-specific zoning” for cannabis outlets, or whether to simply specify the existing zones in which cannabis sales would be permitted.

The most recent administration report identified three commercial zones where cannabis outlets might be considered: C-1 (downtown commercial), C-2 (shopping centre commercial) and C-3 (highway commercial).

The normal practice is for the zoning bylaw to stipulate the permitted uses in each zone, rather than adopting a site-specific approach.

The new report again raises the question of whether cannabis sales should be permitted on the downtown traditional Main Street.

Council did not discuss this July 3, although the question was raised in the 30-page report administration gave councillors for that meeting.

Although this issue was mentioned Monday, it was not discussed.

“Osoyoos has fortunately retained its traditional downtown Main Street, which is a major attraction for residents and tourists alike,” says the new report, signed by MacKay and Barry Romanko, chief administrative officer.

“Supportive policies are needed to ensure that the downtown continues to be the central focus for our community,” the report continues, noting that the official community plan tries to promote a mix of complementary downtown uses.

“Some may argue that the sale of cannabis is not necessarily a ‘complimentary (sic) use’; while others will argue that it is simply another retail outlet,” the report says. “Council may wish to consider restricting the sale of cannabis to stores that do not front directly onto Main Street from Heron Lane to Park Place.”

Administration also asks the question of whether existing parking requirements for commercial businesses should be applied, or whether these outlets should require additional parking.

“Recreational cannabis sales have the potential to generate a significant amount of traffic,” says the report. “This needs to be considered along with the use itself.”

The report also includes maps showing C-2 shopping centre commercial and C-3 highway commercial zones.

The C-2 zone includes the shopping centres at Buy-Low Foods and Red Apple, as well as the plaza at Main Street and Cottonwood Drive.

The C-3 zone includes various areas on Highway 97 and on Highway 3 in the east end of town.

The report suggests that discussion of which commercial zones could permit cannabis sales can be complicated.

“Each of the commercial areas is adjacent to a use which could be considered (by some residents) to be in conflict with the sale of recreational cannabis,” said the report. “It could also be argued that by allowing the sale of recreational cannabis in the highway commercial zone at the corner of Highway 97 and Highway 3 may not project the image of Osoyoos as a family friendly resort destination.”

Campol asked MacKay whether the town uses site-specific zoning for any other business currently.

“Actually, yes you do,” replied MacKay. “You have a notation in the zoning bylaw that allows for cannabis cultivation in industrial zones, but only as a site-specific zoning.”

A second motion directs administration to bring back proposed policies for assessing the appropriateness of site-specific locations.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times