As renovations are underway to open a new province-run BC Cannabis store inside the Scottsdale Centre mall, what could be the final application considered to open another outlet in the City of Delta has yet to come to a public hearing.
The rezoning application to open a dispensary in a unit of an industrial building at 7550 River Rd. was to have gone to a public hearing earlier this year, but was pulled from the agenda at the request of the applicant.
The proposed cannabis dispensary would be operated by a numbered company under the business name 4Twenty Cannabis.
According to the community planning and development department, the application is still on hold at the applicant’s request.
Cannabis dispensaries are currently prohibited across Delta except where approved by council on a case-by-case basis.
The city currently has a moratorium on accepting and considering any new applications for dispensaries.
If approved, the River Road store would be the ninth approved by council, but also likely the last as Mayor George Harvie indicated earlier this year that the moratorium would likely remain in effect.
Delta Police are to report back this year on any concerns related to the approved retail cannabis operations in the city, statistics on the use of cannabis obtained illegally and whether that figure has decreased since legalization, as well as the police department’s calls for service for clandestine production operations.
Meanwhile, neighbouring municipalities Richmond and Surrey continue to prohibit dispensaries, although the Surrey Board of Trade recently released a report indicating support for cannabis retailers to operate.
While retailers are prohibited in those communities, that does not prevent retailers elsewhere from doing home deliveries to Surrey or Richmond residents.
Home deliveries will also be even easier as Uber Eats recently announced that cannabis will be added to its B.C. platform.
Uber Eats drivers will not deliver products, but customers can select a tab on the delivery service’s app which connects to cannabis retailers in a marketplace known as Leafy.
