A proposed recreational cannabis store in Courtenay isn’t being met with much resistance.
Just one person spoke on Monday during a public hearing for zoning that would pave the way for the store at Unit #101 576 England Avenue.
And he was the potential owner of the store.
The applicant, George Ehrler of Beaufort Botanicals Ltd., said his family has been in the valley since 2004. Over that time, the family purchased Nature’s Way Farm and developed a winery.
“So with the success of all the stuff that we’ve done we decided as a family to open a cannabis retail store,” Ehrler said.
Ehler noted that the family is well-versed in the rules and regulations of the alcohol industry “and they’re almost as bad as the ones from the cannabis industry, so we know all these rules and regulations, so we’re quite aware of all that and they’re quite extensive.”
He added that all of the staff will be local and the character and style of the building will be a “modern west coast style.”
And he promised that the security will be extensive: “Lots of cameras, lots of security systems, lots of lock systems, 28-day held tapes… all that kind of stuff.”
Ehrler said the family has a proven business strategy and policies in place on the liquor, farm, and professional side.
He added that the education aspect of the training for the staff is quite extensive and onerous.
Beaufort Botanicals also received a temporary use permit from Cumberland council on April 8th, to set up shop at 2703 Dunsmuir Avenue.
The city has seen nine rezoning applications for recreational cannabis stores, three of which were denied.
