A public hearing last night resulted in the approval of an application to rezone a downtown property to permit a farm-to-table cannabis retailer in downtown Victoria.
Victoria Cannabis Company (VCC) already had conditional provincial approval for a Farmgate license, which allows them to grow and sell cannabis in the same building. The condition was that they get rezoning approval from the city for the retail site.
VCC is already producing cannabis on-site, and has four Health Canada licenses for a nursery, mico-cultivation and processing.
During the public hearing last night, the company said that nothing like this application currently exists on Vancouver Island, and would therefore be first in Victoria. It will be the third of its kind in BC, and one of 10 in Canada.
They added that they are uniquely positioned to run a grow/retail space, as most cannabis cultivation happens in low-foot traffic areas.
VCC has the recently completed E&N bike trail going right past their building, and are also located blocks away from the sea wall.
The applicant also noted several benefits of the venture, including improvements to the facade of the building, increased tourism from people interested in BC cannabis, as well as job creation.
