The Town of Princeton is hoping to be able to pick and choose where retail cannabis outlets are permitted to operate, under Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw amendments that received two readings from council Monday night.
A public hearing on the proposal will be held Monday, February 3, at town hall, beginning at 7 p.m.
Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne said he has no qualms about allowing cannabis sales in town “but it has to be site specific.”
The OCP and bylaw amendments would allow retail pot outlets in any area zoned commercial – primarily in the downtown core – with approval from council following public input.
The municipality has been studying the issue of cannabis sales since the product was legalized in the fall of 2018, and has looked at how other communities have approached licensing.
Related: Cannabis products removed from Princeton store shelves after visits from RCMP
“There are a lot of models out there,” said Coyne.
While many towns and cities have established specific zoning areas for cannabis operations – limiting them to properties set distances from existing facilities like schools and public spaces – that won’t work in Princeton, he added.
“There are parks everywhere” in the commercial district, Coyne explained.
“Town square is a park, then there is the library.” The school board also owns property in the downtown core.
Coyne said he personally supports the idea of a retail cannabis store. “It’s legal and I support business.”
At present the closest pot shops are in Keremeos and on Old Hedley Road, 18 km from town.
Related: Pot shop opens near Princeton on band land
The proposed amendments also allow for site specific approval to grow, produce and distribute cannabis in Princeton’s industrial park so long as operations do not produce air, light or noise pollution.
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