A cannabis retailer eyeing Morinville has officially stepped up to the plate, marking the first official application the town has seen.
Nunu Retail Ltd. is applying to open a pot shop next to Liquor Planet on 100 St., where the Green Bean Coffee Corporation used to be.
As part of the process, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission has set an objection date for the application for June 5. The objection phase is an opportunity for people to submit any concerns they have with the retailer’s proposed location.
For municipalities that still have to deal with bylaws relating to cannabis, if the application passes the objection phase without any objection submitted against it, the location still wouldn’t be approved until it meets both the bylaw amendments and when cannabis is legalized.
Since the town has already approved its land-use bylaw to allow cannabis stores in certain districts in Morinville, legalization is the last piece of the puzzle.
As part of the town’s bylaws, cannabis stores are restricted from being 100 meters from schools and hospitals. It doesn’t say anything about other pot shops or liquor stores.
The Gazette reached out to the realtor who is handling the location in an attempt to speak with the owners behind Nunu Retail Ltd.
In response, the owners told the agent that they preferred to remain anonymous due to the high level of competition between applicants looking for locations across Alberta.
Even though the owners are remaining mum, Keith Halabi, realtor with RE/MAX Professionals handling the property, was able to share some details about the location.
Halabi said the owners are focusing on towns with over 8,000 residents located from central to northern Alberta. The retailer has applied for seven stores in the province.
When it comes to the location in Morinville, Halabi said it was a good retail property. He said the retailer has plans to revamp the place when it's approved.
“There’s an architect firm that’s designing their stores, they’re going to be consistent throughout Alberta,” he said. “Every store will look the same ... it’s going to be professional top to bottom.”
When it came to the location's proximity to the liquor store, he said small towns are a different market than bigger municipalities.
While the AGLC has only set parameters around how close a store can be from schools and hospitals, the regulating body is leaving it up to the municipalities to determine how far pot shops should be from each other or liquor stores.
Some municipalities, such as Edmonton, are examining a 100-metre boundary from a liquor store and a cannabis store.
Halabi said while that option works for some areas, it won’t work for others.
While the commercial real estate market is vast in cities, many small towns only have a few streets with limited availability.
Since there are no restrictions on how far liquor stores can be from each other, many small towns have liquor stores scattered closely together. Halabi said that can make it nearly impossible to find a property that’s far away.
“Towns have two main streets with liquor stores spread out. If you were going to do a 100 metres radius from each one (in Morinville), the only place for a cannabis store is going to be off of Highway 2,” he said.
Morinville has approved cannabis locations in the C-1, C-2, and C-3 commercial districts, mostly located west and south of the 100th Ave./100 St. (Sobey’s) intersection.
There are five liquor stores in Morinville located throughout those three districts.
The AGLC said as of March 6 they have received 586 applications to open cannabis stores across the province.
To submit an objection visit: https://aglc.ca/cannabis/retail-cannabis-store-licences/retail-cannabis-licensing-objections.
