Council lifts restriction on downtown pot shop cap
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A cannabis retail store in Vernon’s Fruit Union Plaza that was barred from proceeding with their application because of a municipal moratorium will be up for council’s consideration after all.
Vernon city council voted to remove the secondary business improvement area, which includes the Fruit Union Plaza, from the moratorium that limits the number of cannabis retail stores to six in the downtown core.
The proposed cannabis retail store, Cannabis Cowboys argued the Fruit Union Plaza should excluded from the moratorium put in place on April 23, 2019 because its store has different characteristics. They stated their proposed business is far enough away from Vernon’s 30th Avenue main street and wouldn’t contribute to a clustering effect of cannabis retail stores. They also said their proposed business faces a parking lot and highway as opposed to heavily trafficked pedestrian sidewalk.
Ralph Woessner, president and owner of the Fruit Union Plaza, submitted a letter of support for the application. He echoed the distance factor of the Fruit Union Plaza and argued many of the approved shops already in the primary business area are close in proximity.
