NIPAWIN — Nipawin residents are going to have to wait a bit longer to find out where cannabis shops are allowed to be.
Town council decided at a special meeting July 16 to not go forward with bylaws that would set the distance of cannabis retail stores to pre-schools, daycare centres, public or private schools, parks and playgrounds, public recreation uses, community centres, and commercial recreation uses.
The stores would only be allowed on commercial properties.
The town council originally looked at 50 metres from all other relevant facilities, but now they will be also taking into consideration 150 metres, as well as the sightline. The increased distance under consideration is due to Tisdale’s proposed bylaw using 150 metres, and the sightline is in reference to the goal of the bylaw, to keep the cannabis retail stores out of the sight of youth.
For now, no decisions have been made.
Before they make a decision, they will have an appropriate map drawn up to show the results of a 150m distance, to compare to the already made 50 metre map.
Unofficial measurements done on a Google Map by The Recorder show most of downtown could be excluded from having a cannabis store. The Recorder has been previously told council would prefer having a cannabis shop downtown.
For Nipawin residents, this could mean an extra block to get their recreational cannabis when it becomes legal for use Oct. 17.
