News

Daycare supports cannabis store

Published on December 3, 2018 by David Wylie

A retail cannabis store in Lake Country is expected to take another step closer to reality Tuesday.

It could even be open before Christmas, becoming the first in the Okanagan.

District staff have recommended council approve a variance permit to allow the current Compass Cannabis Clinic in Turtle Bay Crossing to operate closer to a daycare than the 400 metres allowed under the bylaw. New Beginnings daycare operates nearby.

The local owner/operators of the franchise wrote a letter to the city saying they are local and active Lake Country residents. They say the Turtle Bay location is away from schools, and a liquor store operates even closer to the temporary daycare than they would.

“We belong in this community, we fit in here like a glove,” they wrote. “We help our neighbours, we are community minded, we pay taxes, we are fun to be around and we are good people.”

New Beginnings daycare submitted a letter of support for the store.

“Staff believes the rationale provided is reasonable given that the rules around the sale of cannabis are stringent, much like liquor, of which there is a liquor store within the same development,” says the staff report.

Council will discuss the variance at Tuesday’s meeting. If they vote to approve the variance, the application will come before council again on Dec. 18, providing two weeks for public notice.

The president of Cannabis Compass Clinic, Dave Martyn, told the oz. in an interview last month that he was hoping the store would be open at Christmas time.

As a retail outlet, Compass would become Starbuds – which is the recreational arm of Compass.