Delta is poised to get its second-ever cannabis dispensary, and its first in a retail area.
On Monday (Dec. 13), council unanimously gave third reading to Inspired Cannabis Co.’s application for a dispensary in North Delta at 120 – 8077 Scott Road (Delta Shoppers Mall, next door to JYSK). The dispensary would include 156 square metres (1,679 sq. ft.) of retail storefront and 98 square metres (1 ,055 sq. ft.) for office and storage.
There would be no cultivation, processing or manufacturing of cannabis products onsite, and consumption of cannabis at or near a dispensary is prohibited under provincial regulations.
The facility’s operator, Inspired Cannabis Co., is an established non-medical cannabis retail brand with four dispensaries in B.C. (two in Vancouver and one each in Nanaimo and Salmon Arm), two in Saskatchewan and six in Ontario, plus another Vancouver location and three more in Ontario “coming soon.”
According to a staff report to council, Inspired Cannabis is a family-run business founded by two owners who have over 15 years of experience in starting up and operating seven community pharmacies in the Vancouver area.
If given final approval, the dispensary would be the second ever approved in the city, and the first approved outside of an industrial area and in one of Delta’s three main communities.
On Nov. 22, council approved a proposed cannabis dispensary at 616 Chester Road on Annacis Island, a 0.8 hectare industrial property just off Highway 91. The dispensary will operate in one part of the building, taking up 93 square metres (1,001 sq. ft.) of retail storefront and 245 square metres (2,637 sq. ft.) of warehouse space, as well as 97 square metres (1,044 sq. ft.) of mezzanine office space.
READ MORE: Delta council approves first cannabis dispensary
It will be operated by Seed & Stone, a non-medical cannabis retail brand which currently operates one store in Chilliwack, two in Victoria and another yet-to-open location on White Rock’s Marine Drive. A staff report notes the owner, Vickram Sachdeva, has over 20 years of experience in retail, including managing liquor stores and therefore complying with provincial regulations and licence requirements.
Seed & Stone will be required to purchase cannabis products directly from the provincial government’s distribution branch, and no cultivation, processing or manufacturing will take place on site.
Another four cannabis dispensary applications have been received by council for information and are under review by city staff before making their way back for council’s approval.
Three dispensaries are being pitched for South Delta: one at 5128 Ladner Trunk Road (Ladner Centre Mall) and one at 100 – 1179 56th Street (Bayside Village Mall) — both of which would be operated by Inspired Cannabis — and another at 1274 56th Street (Tsawwassen Shopping Centre) by Queensborough Cannabis Co.
Another application would see a government-run cannabis store open at North Delta’s Scottsdale Centre (7019 Scott Road), next door to the existing B.C. liquor store.
In a closed meeting on Sept. 27, with (at the time) six applications on the books, council decided that staff should not accept any new cannabis dispensary rezoning applications “until further notice.”
In 2018, council approved changes to the city’s zoning bylaw that prohibited cannabis dispensaries in all zones. Under those new rules, all applications must come before council for approval on a case-by-case basis.
SEE ALSO: Delta approves first cannabis store while Surrey keeps door shut
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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