Bridgeland cannabis store delayed after appeal from community association

The co-owner of a recreational weed store says an appeal by the community association is delaying the store opening despite what she calls support from many of the people who live there.

Alena Jenkins and her dad had hoped to have FivePoint Cannabis open in Bridgeland on Oct. 17, when recreational marijuana became the law of the land.

• Legal cannabis draws huge lineups as stores open in Calgary

She shared her frustration with The Homestretch on the delay that came after receiving a permit months ago.

The main opposition to the store is coming from the community association. It's made presentations to city council with a list of concerns.

This interview has been edited and paraphrased for clarity and length. You can listen to the complete interview here.

Q: Why aren't you open for business yet?

A: It comes down to bureaucracy, really.

It's been a process and everybody is learning as we go along. As with any development permit, we are finally at the stage where we are ready to reno our place, and anybody can appeal a development permit in Calgary. So that's where we are at right now.

Q: And it costs only $100?

A: Yes. For $100 anybody can appeal it and that puts you in a queue and with as many applications as there has been, there's a very long queue.

Q: Who is against this and why, do you think?

A: We expected there would be some community members that have misunderstandings about cannabis, but we are having that from the Bridgeland-Riverside community planning committee.

They are concerned with a few things, like being so close to parks. However, we went through the approval process for the province and the city and got the green light.

Q: The last time we spoke, in the summer, you told us you chose Bridgeland for its young, hip vibe. So what do you make of this response from the community?

A: This isn't the community response.

I have gone out and spoken to the community. I have stacks of letters of support. This comes down to a couple of key people on that planning committee. It really isn't reflective of the community on the whole.

Q: Do you have any idea when your appeal may be heard?

A: Unfortunately, our appeal was put at the bottom of the bunch. It won't be coming until Jan. 31.

Q: Were you ready to open or was there still work to do?

A: We were ready to open but with this appeal and that shocking date, we've worked out with our previous tenants to keep them in there.

We've been helping them stay open and we will continue to do so until we get the green light.

We've got a great contractor that has us at the top of his priority list. We will get it together in a couple of weeks.

Q: What if you can't change people's minds?

A: That would be very unfortunate.

We have a pretty good case. We had to jump through a couple of additional hoops. We've already gone to council and they have ruled in our favour.

The people at the city have put in a lot of due diligence, for the applications that got approved, to make sure they fit all the criteria.

A lot of this is fear mongering about legalization on the whole.

Q: There have been huge lineups on the first day of legalization. What's going through your mind seeing this, that you are going to be playing catch-up?

A: We have our website up and my phone has been ringing off the hook. That's what I want people to understand.

If you want this in your community, show your support. You can email the planning committee directly and hopefully get them to see that this is something the community wants.

Q: Do you have any regrets?

A: It's been a learning curve for me as a young adult, but no, I don't have any regrets at all.

Q: You are in business with your dad. How is he feeling about this?

A: It is definitely high stress.

We are one of the only smaller, daughter-and-pop shops in the city, and it's stressful but we are managing and it's actually brought our relationship closer together.

The Bridgeland-Riverside Community Association opposed the land use change at council meetings over the summer.

"We really want people to linger in this area," association planning director Ali McMillan told councillors in July.

"We are trying to trend towards making this plaza more of a gathering space."

The association raised concerns around the location being too close to a walking route for school children, a liquor store and the community centre. How it might impact crime and attract activities that could deter families from gathering in the nearby plaza and numerous other concerns were also raised.

The association's case against the proposal starts at about 4:25:30 in the video on this webpage.

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With files from The Homestretch.