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Vernon  

City to review $2,000 business license fees for pot shops

Pot license fees too high

The Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce wants the city to snuff out high fees for pot shops.

Chamber president Krystin Kempton sent a letter to civic leaders stating “such a high business license fee could threaten the viability of entrepreneurs and employment opportunities.”

According to the letter, the city charges $2,000 annually for the pot shop business licenses when the fee for a similar sized liquor store is $185 and $135 annually for any other similar sized business.

City officials had previously stated publicly a lot of staff time was required from various departments to address establishing marijuana dispensaries in the city.

“The reality, though, is that the heavy lifting has already been done in terms of city staff establishing a process to approve retail cannabis operations and to annually charge $2,000 for a license renewal is simply arbitrary and unreasonable,” said Kempton. “In Penticton, the annual business license fee for all retail stores, including cannabis, is $180.”

The letter from Kempton went on to say, unless the city can demonstrate that retail cannabis shops place undue financial pressure on city resources such as policing or bylaw compliance, “then there is no justification for $2,000 a year, particularly at a time when our community and economy depend on recovery from the pandemic.”

At last Monday's council meeting, staff was asked to review business licensing fees for retail cannabis operations and prepare a report for council.



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