Vancouver weed retailers Jamie’s Joint and Marigolds Cannabis Ltd. must surely have high hopes for this location near the edge of the city.
So much so that these two pot ventures plan to open stores at the same building on East Hastings Street.
The stores will be next door to each other, except that this is likely not possible at all.
The City of Vancouver has zoning regulations for pot stores, which provide that locations must be at least 300 metres from schools, neighbourhood houses, facilities that serve vulnerable youth, and other weed businesses.
Jamie’s Joint has applied for a business licence at 3619 East Hastings, and Marigolds Cannabis, 3623.
The ground floor commercial units are part of 388View, a four-storey mixed-use development with condos on upper levels.
Businesses currently operating at the other commercial spaces include a vape shop.
The building is at the corner of East Hastings and Kootenay streets.
The residential component is accessed through the Kootenay Street side, and which also faces the Kootenay bus loop of TransLink.
The building is a block away from Boundary Road.
In a letter to the city, Christina Michael, founder and president of Marigolds Cannabis, stated that her proposed location area does “not have any operational licenced nonmedical retail stores and no known development permit applications have been granted for prospective applicants”.
The building is also within the 300-metre exclusion zone for schools.
Sir John Franklin Elementary is located nearby on Skeena Street.
According to Marigolds Cannabis’ Michael, she has “reached out” to school administrators.
Michael noted that she is “also a parent of school aged children and connected with the school Administrator with a clear understanding of respecting the school and the attendees”.
The public has until January 31, 2020 to comment on the two weed store applications.
