Saanich council approved a zoning bylaw for cannabis production in an effort to be proactive promoting the sale and production of cannabis. At the Feb. 24 council meeting the zoning bylaw amendment was approved to include cannabis production to be permitted in all M zones.

The bylaw approval comes after council requested that staff draft zoning bylaw amendments based on options provided to council in 2019. Bylaw amendments were required to permit the retail sale and production of non-medical cannabis in Saanich.

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BC Cannabis has a pending application with the District of Saanich for a retail store location at the Uptown shopping centre at 3440 Saanich Rd. Approval would make it the first provincial cannabis store for south Vancouver Island.

“Since the legalization of cannabis, Saanich council has been looking at ways to ensure the production and sale of cannabis meets the varied needs of the community in a controlled and safe manner,” Saanich District said in a statement.

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At the Jan. 6 council meeting, a zoning bylaw was also approved to permit the the sale of non-medical cannabis in the same commercial zone that permits retail sale of liquor.

Council also approved a bylaw to impose a $2,000 licence processing fee for all liquor and cannabis retail stores, a fee that is in addition to a provincial licence application. Cannabis and liquor licence referral applications will now have to be submitted to Saanich to sell non-medical cannabis.

The District notes, “if the zoning does not permit the retail sale of non-medical cannabis, a site specific rezoning would be required in addition to the provincial and municipal licensing application.”

sarah.schuchard@saanichnews.com

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