Whistler is one step closer to getting its first-ever legal cannabis retail stores after a suite of bylaws received first readings on Sept. 20.
The amendments apply to Whistler’s zoning, business licence and liquor licence bylaws, and will revise the resort-wide prohibition on cannabis retail to designate five temporary use permit (TUP) areas where cannabis retail may be allowed: Creekside, Function Junction, Nesters Plaza, Whistler Village, and Village North.
Once the new bylaws are passed, a “designated intake period” will be defined, to allow the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to consider complete cannabis retail TUP applications in a “batch application process,” according to a report to council.
The TUP application fee will be $2,400, and operators will also require a provincial Cannabis Retail Store licence and a $190 annual business licence.
Councillor Ralph Forsyth reminded the council meeting attendees that the municipality will receive no income from the pot shops besides property taxes, and criticized the federal government for holding all the revenue.
“The municipality sees zero tax dollars from this; there is zero incentive for us to do this. Maybe some people are gonna want to take a holiday here because we have a store that sells weed. I don’t know if that’s really realistic in the spectrum of tourism offerings,” Forsyth said.
“I just want to make that emphatically clear to everyone in the community that thinks we are going to have some kind of gravy train [with] the revenue source here. It’s not. You get the assessed value of property tax.”
A public hearing will follow.
Head to the RMOW's website for more information.
