Cannabis may become legal in Canada Oct. 17, but that doesn害羞草研究所檛 mean it will be available for sale in Kelowna as soon as that.

That害羞草研究所檚 because the city plans to set a period of Oct. 1 to Nov. 30 for applications to open stores selling cannabis, with a nine-member committee害羞草研究所攎ade up of select city and law enforcement officials害羞草研究所攖hen evaluating the hundreds of applications the city is expecting to receive.

Under rules endorsed by council Monday, the plan is to have the committee weed out the applications that best meet the city害羞草研究所檚 requirements and objectives and then forward only those to council for consideration.

Areas the committee will look at will include the business plan, security, location, store layout and compliance with city setback requirements.

Where two or more applications for the the same location come up equal, the city plans to hold a lottery to determine the winner.

The city is taking the unusual steps towards to dealing with the applications because it says having the planning department deal with so many applications at one time in the traditional manner could 害羞草研究所渃ripple害羞草研究所� it.

害羞草研究所淲e expect not dozens of applications but potentially hundreds,害羞草研究所� said community planning manager Ryan Smith.

On Monday he told council the city regularly deals with about 800 development applications per year. If it had to suddenly deal with 150 more at one time, it would pose a huge problem for the department.

He said there have already been hundreds of inquiries made to the city about opening stores selling legal cannabis in Kelowna.

Related: Kelowna looking to keep pot shops off two downtown streets

On Monday, council endorsed a number of rules that will govern the location of cannabis retail outlets in the city including:

害羞草研究所� Locating them at least 500 metres from each other

害羞草研究所� Locating them at least 500 metres from middle schools and high schools

害羞草研究所� Locating them at least 150 metres from select parks

害羞草研究所� Banning them from opening on stretches of Leon and Lawrence Avenues downtown between Abbott and Bertram Streets

害羞草研究所� Locating them only in commercial zones.

The rules would apply equally to private and government-operated stores.

The proposed rules will now go to a public hearing to give the community an opportunity to tell council what they think about them.

Smith said there are about 900 locations in the city where pot shops could open, but that number will decrease as ones are approved and separation rules start to kick in.

The issue of potential lotteries to determine who is allowed to open a store in a specified location caught council害羞草研究所檚 attention, with several councillors expressing concern and saying any such move would have to be very transparent.

害羞草研究所淚f it does go down to a draw, I think it has to be very, very public and make sure it is completely transparent,害羞草研究所� said Coun. Luke Stack.

害羞草研究所淲hat I害羞草研究所檝e heard is there is a lot of interest in applications, and we have to make sure we are very transparent with the applicants so people are treated fairly.害羞草研究所�

Related: Pot shops not welcome in Kelowna just yet

Two other councillors, Brad Sieben and Tracy Gray expressed concern with the matrix the city will use to determine who gets to open a store.

Sieben said he was concerned with the city being the 害羞草研究所渏udge verses the evaluator害羞草研究所� and Gray said while she could support sending the rules to a public hearing, she was uneasy about having the city decide which business was better than another.

But Mayor Colin Basran defended the city害羞草研究所檚 plan, noting some other cities are not allowing pot shops at all.

害羞草研究所淚 appreciate the approach we害羞草研究所檙e taking,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 think it strikes a good balance.害羞草研究所�

He added the large amount of work the city is doing to prepare for the arrival of the legal cannabis in Kelowna shows the support the city is giving to the new industry.

Earlier in his presentation, Smith said the fees applicants will be charged will reflect the amount of time and money the city has spent preparing for the arrival of legal cannabis sales in Kelowna.

Basran said the issue of profit sharing to cover the city害羞草研究所檚 costs is one that has yet to be determined by the province.

To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.

newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on .