A bid for a second BC Cannabis Store in Port Coquitlam will go to another public hearing this month.
Last Tuesday, city council rescinded and re-read the second bylaw reading for the provincial government’s application to turn a unit at 985 Nicola Ave. into a 6,000-sq. ft. cannabis outlet.
The facility would also include a warehouse/storage component plus an administration and training side.
The bylaw re-reading comes after a public hearing in July in which the size of the operation raised eyebrows.
Under the revised regulation, city council would restrict the sales area to 2,658 sq. ft. — a move opposed by councillors Darrel Penner and Laura Dupont, who said council shouldn’t limit retail; rather, they said, the rezoning rules should apply evenly to all businesses.
“It could impact them in the future,” Penner said of the BC Cannabis Store. “This industry is going to change.”
But Mayor West said the sales area size is “already in their application. They said this is their intention… and this is to ensure what has been proposed is what we get.”
He added, “The desire is to ensure there’s not a conversion of the warehouse and training without it coming back to council.”
Currently, PoCo has two private cannabis shops operated by burb; a pre-approved BC Cannabis Store is scheduled to be ready next year in a new building along Lougheed Highway, near the No Frills store.
