2802 5th Ave North, the building where Tumble Weed Cannabis is proposing to open. (Supplied by City of Lethbridge)

By David Opinko

Business owner opposed to proposed cannabis store near Lethbridge’s industrial park

Jul 23, 2019 | 11:23 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Tumble Weed Cannabis wants to open a retail store at 2802 5th Ave North in Lethbridge in the same building that hosts a variety of other businesses like Honkers Pub & Eatery.

Prior to a public hearing on the matter at city hall Monday afternoon, notifications were sent to 29 neighbouring companies, only one of which got a disapproving response.

Mo-Tires Ltd. Automotive Centre President Brian Roloefs believes that having such a business in that area would impact safety.

“That area is a gateway into the industrial park where lots of people work. It makes it convenient for the workers to pick up their supplies of cannabis to go to work with.”

Currently, the City of Lethbridge reports that there are 10 applications for retail cannabis stores that have all the necessary approvals from both the municipality and the province.

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While it was mentioned by members of council that a worker could theoretically buy cannabis at any of the other locations and take it to their north side workplace, Roloefs said it was the proximity to so many shops that use heavy machinery that posed the safety risks.

He adds that there are two main ways for an employer to be able to tell if their employee is impaired on the job – the smell of the substance and their actions. While he told Lethbridge News Now that it would be easy to detect the smell of cannabis if it was smoked, he said it would be much more difficult to know if it was in some other form that does not need to be smoked.

Glen Lengyel is a Commercial Property Manager with Avison Young and spoke at the public hearing on behalf of the land owner.

He was advocating for the area to be re-zoned from Business Industrial to Direct Control as it is the only category of zoning that allows for cannabis sales without having to displace any of the already-existing businesses.

Council voted to approved the re-zoning.

“I think that the client’s really pumped. I think they were pretty nervous about what would happen,” says Lengyel. “There was a bit of pushback from Mo-Tires there, but I think the points of argument were more, maybe, emotionally-motivated, and that’s why we have regulations in place to protect different zones based on cannabis regulations and so on.”

As part of the negotiating process, the City asked the building’s owners to undergo some landscaping fixes to the front of the property to add grass, bushes, and trees, while also implementing a fully-functional crosswalk on the corner of 28th Street and 5th Ave North.

Tumble Weed Cannabis now has the proper approvals from the City of Lethbridge, but are still waiting to hear back from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission.

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