Nelson City Council has voted down an application by a local restaurant to open a patio for cannabis consumption.
The application by Yaherb at 512 Hendryx St., which is owned by resident Brenton Raby, was for a temporary-use permit, a designation that allows a project to run as a pilot for up to three years before council decides to rezone a property.
Senior city planner Ken Bourdeau said no other municipalities in B.C. have cannabis consumption patios, so there are no precedents to fall back on. He said the provincial and municipal rules about smoking and clean air are of little help because they do not fit this unique situation.
A cannabis patio has recently opened in Penticton, but it is part of a cannabis dispensary, not a restaurant.
Yaherb carried out the required public opinion survey among people residing within 60 metres. Twenty people attended a subsequent meeting, 18 of whom expressed support for the permit. In addition, Bourdeau said council has received 23 letters with 13 people opposed, nine in favour and one inconclusive.
Several council members said they had received letters from residents concerned about the smell of cannabis smoke in their neighbourhood along with less specific concerns about the type of clientele the patio might attract. This contrasted sharply with Yaherb's written submission to council, which touted the value of cannabis tourism and the benefits that would bring to the city.
Council considered approving the patio with an experimental limit of one year, but eventually rejected it outright in a 4-3 vote at its May 6 meeting.
If it had been approved, Bourdeau recommended that a number of conditions be placed on the patio. It would have to exist as part of an operating restaurant, and only in a designated agreed-upon location between the restaurant and the sidewalk.
Patrons would have to be 19-plus in age, and current hours of operation restricted to 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days per week. No cannabis consumption would have been allowed in the restaurant or outside the patio. A natural vegetation barrier would also have been erected between the patio and the sidewalk.
