Address mixup shows pot store scramble

By Collin Gallant on August 31, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

A bank branch in south Medicine Hat will not be transformed into a store that sells cannabis, despite the suggestion at last week’s planning commission meeting.

But the issue does reveal the speed at which entrepreneurs are rushing to get into the sector, a series of leasing swaps and how quickly developers are rewriting applications to confirm to fast-evolving rules.

The planning commission approved nine applications on Aug. 22 for the new business category ahead of the Oct. 17 legalization date, but only eight were published in the city’s public notices this week.

Absent was one related to 3215 Dunmore Rd., the general address of the Carry Drive commercial plaza. City planning staff now say an addressing error means the permit has been pulled, and will need to be resubmitted.

“It sometimes happens when a landlord is not 100 per cent sure what their addresses are,” said city planner Jim Genge, who said early miscommunication between the landlord and leasee seems to have “layered confusion” throughout the process.

“Sometimes you have to dig through these to find the problem … without realizing it, they had two different addresses.”

The applicant, Kushbar Inc., was apparently interested in an empty bay at 116-3215 Carry Dr., but was supplied with an address of 3215E Carry Dr. — the bank.

They submitted a proposed floorplan of the bank, a letter of consent from the landlord, and even a picture of the BMO branch to the city for a development permit.

Not knowing the details of a private transaction, planners processed the work, though Genge said the error would have been discovered at the building permit stage.

Even during the meeting, commission members wondered aloud if the location in question could really be the bank branch.

Since it was all in order, located within an overlay area for cannabis retail zoning and staff had no concerns with parking or distances from schools or health facilities, it was approved.

An investigation by the News found no one at the bank was aware of the application, and two separate provincial licence applications filed with Alberta Gaming and Liquor list bays at Carry Plaza from separate companies.

The city dealt with one from “Kushbar,” which alternately stated bays 106 and 1060 as the exact location, though bay 1060 doesn’t exist.

The actual location in question is bay 116, said Genge, who expects the company to apply for a new permit soon.

Calls to the company from the News were not returned. “Kushbar” is a brand name chain store owned by High Tide Ventures.

Another of High Tide’s brand chains is Canna Cabana, which held a public open house in Redcliff this week ahead of a town planning commission decision on a plan to open on its S. Railway Drive.

The other Carry Drive application to the AGLC was submitted in March by Clarity Cannabis MD Holdings, of Victoria. It lists the former salon and yogurt shop — bay 116 — as a location.

The status of that application is unknown, though Clarity was granted a city development permit for a location on Third Street in Medicine Hat at the Aug. 22 planning commission meeting.

Officials with Clarity told the News they didn’t have Medicine Hat information on hand citing a current backlog of 70 applications across the country up for municipal approval.

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