A spokesperson for the cannabis business that recently won a court case against the Town of Sidney said she hopes the shop will be up and running soon.
B次元官网网址淲e hope to appear before town council very quickly and B次元官网网址� hopefully soon B次元官网网址� to be able to do our part to keep local shopping dollars right here in Sidney and into the tax coffers,B次元官网网址� said Cindy Pendergast of Happy Buddha. B次元官网网址淲e will do everything we can to help our community come back stronger than ever from the economic impact of COVID-19.B次元官网网址�
She made that promise after a court had set aside SidneyB次元官网网址檚 decision to deny what would have been the communityB次元官网网址檚 first recreational cannabis store for reasons of B次元官网网址渋llegality,B次元官网网址� according to John Alexander, the lawyer representing the business.
Sidney council had denied plans by Cindy Pendergast and Brad Styles to open Happy Buddha Cannabis in the 2400-block of Beacon Avenue by a vote of 4-3, with opponents pointing to the municipalityB次元官网网址檚 requirement for transparent windows on Beacon Avenue among other reasons. By way of background, the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch at the time required opaque windows, setting up a contradiction between municipal and provincial regulations.
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Several weeks later, the business started legal proceedings against the municipality, in part on the basis that the municipality cannot require the business to do something that is against provincial law. In June, the provincial government dropped the requirement for opaque windows. In other words, the previous conflict between municipal and provincial regulations has disappeared, leaving the application in compliance with both.
Justice Jennifer Power of the British Columbia Supreme Court nonetheless agreed with the businessB次元官网网址� lawyer that a B次元官网网址渕unicipal government cannot require what a provincial government prohibits.B次元官网网址� Power also found the municipality failed to follow process in hearing the initial application in the fall of 2019.
Pendergast called PowerB次元官网网址檚 ruling B次元官网网址渁 measured, well reasoned decisionB次元官网网址� while also sending out conciliatory signals to the municipality.
B次元官网网址淲e appreciate the townB次元官网网址檚 reaching out to us this morning and we are excited to show them our new window design,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 get down to business and keep shopping dollars in Sidney.B次元官网网址�
Pendergast said earlier that the business plans to ask council to approve the store as soon as possible.
B次元官网网址淲ith COVID-19 no one is sure what the Sidney retail outlook will look like in the coming months,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淓specially with an anticipated [second COVID-19] wave predicted for the fall. WeB次元官网网址檙e here to open a new business in tough economic times. That means jobs, business taxes and consumer dollars that stay in this community. Happy Buddha will do our best to create more foot traffic on Beacon and the economic spin off will help everybody.B次元官网网址�
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