A proposal to open a provincially-run cannabis retail store in Pine Centre Mall cleared a hurdle Monday night when city council voted 6-1 to advance a spot-rezoning for the location to final hearing.
The move came after a public hearing that drew an expression of concern from a representative from Northern Health, healthy settings advisor Jeff Kormos, who said the mall is a poor location because of the number of children and youth who are quite often in the building, particularly given its close proximity to Prince George Secondary School.
"We would just warn that having a cannabis outlet in the mall would potentially be more visible to youth and children in the area," Kormos said.
Three letters to council on the item expressed a similar concern.
However, it was not enough to sway most of council. Only Coun. Cori Ramsay voted against, also over concern about its short distance from PGSS, saying better locations can be found.
"I grew up in that area, in that neighbourhood, I attended PGSS," she said. "I spent my lunch hours going to Pine Centre Mall and I do believe it serves as an extension, unofficially, of the PGSS campus."
In support, Coun. Garth Frizzell said the mall caters to a wide variety of interests, "ranking from the liquor store to teen shops to a cigar store."
Like Frizzell, Coun. Murry Krause noted a liquor store has been operating at the mall for quite some time, "and if there is a drug that's used more than any other, it's probably alcohol.
Krause also noted he attended PGSS back in the 1960s and cannabis was readily available back then.
Coun. Kyle Sampson said measures will be in place to keep minors out of the stores, including a thorough identification checks. Two pieces of ID are required for proof of age.
Sampson added he toured a BC Cannabis Store in Kamloops and came away impressed.
"They do a really good job of making sure the right clientele and that's somebody of age," he said.
Mayor Lyn Hall and councillors Brian Skakun and Frank Everitt also voted in favour. Councillors Terri McConnachie and Susan Scott were absent.
The store will be opened in a corner of the old Sears department store. Entrance into the store will be from outside the mall only.
Pending final approval, it will be the second BC Cannabis Store to win council's support. The other is slated for the Westgate Shopping Centre.
No applications for privately-run stores have gone before council.
Meanwhile, a proposal to amend the city's zoning bylaw to allow cannabis production on land zoned heavy industrial was also advanced to final reading after no concerns were raised during a public hearing on that matter.
That rezoning will make way for an application to rezone sites at 7250 and 7574 Willow Cale Rd. measuring 14.9 hectares (37 acres) for a cannabis production facility. A public hearing on that proposal will be held at a later date.
