Nelson City Council rejected an application for a temporary permit for cannabis consumption on the patio of a local cafe in a meeting on Tuesday, May 6. 

Despite a recommendation from city staff to approve the Temporary Use Permit (TUP) that would have authorized Yaherb Cafe to allow cannabis consumption on an outdoor patio, city council voted against the measure, citing concerns from the public. 

Following a staff presentation about the application and a brief discussion, Councillor Rik Logtenberg brought forward a motion to deny the temporary permit, which was seconded by Councillor Kate Tait. 

Logtenberg said he was not opposed to the application “in principle” but felt the location was not appropriate, citing community feedback. A city staff report detailed numerous letters of support and opposition to the location. 

“I think smoking cannabis is quite different from even smoking cigarettes,” said the councillor. “The smell is so strong, and many people… especially the people in the neighbourhood, I think they have a right to clean air, and it’s the same as sound and everything else.”

“I’m not opposed to this in other locations,” he added. “I think this location is really problematic. There’s kids in this neighbourhood.”

Councillor Tait added that she didn’t want Nelson to be the first location in BC to formally allow such a space, preferring to wait for other jurisdictions to tackle the issue first. 

Councillor Leslie Payne, who suggested changing the TUP to one year from three but supported the overall approach, said she sees the application as a “continuation of our heritage” in the Nelson community, noting that those who live in areas next to commercial districts have to accept these types of activities. She also expressed surprise at some of the community feedback that she said equated cannabis users with “disreputable” behaviour. 

“We don’t do that with drinking and alcohol,” she noted.

“What other area are we going to find where this is going to be more acceptable?”

Mayor Janice Morrison also chimed in to add that she also opposed the TUP, siding with councillors Tait and Logtenberg, saying that she doesn’t believe cannabis consumers need to smoke cannabis in order to use it, and agreeing that she wanted to wait to see how other municipalities handle the issue.  

“I think people have a right to clean air,” said the Mayor, adding that she felt that allowing such a business could open the city to potential litigation.

In 2020, when Morrison was a Nelson City Councillor, she endorsed a resolution that called on the provincial government to remove a provincial barrier to allowing the promotion of cannabis consumption spaces. The resolution referred to the “historical legacy of cannabis cultivation and a clear acknowledgement that the cannabis industry is a pillar of our regional economy” in the Kootenay Region.

Brenton Raby, who owns the Yaherb Cafe and had worked with the city of Nelson to file the TUP application, said he was prepared to address concerns from some councillors, but was surprised by some of the types of opposition raised. 

“We went from a community that permitted unlicensed federally prohibited medical cannabis dispensaries to now a community where applications for cannabis consumption spaces are going to be confused with the criminal element and to be avoided at all costs.”

Without such an officially authorized space, Raby says there is technically nowhere to legally smoke or vape cannabis in downtown Nelson, something he highlighted in his submission to the city. 

“It seems that the trend is that there is no traction for legal cannabis here in Nelson. Without any exceptions, there is nowhere in downtown Nelson where consumption spaces can be permitted.”

Council noted that Raby can reapply for another permit in the future. 

Four councillors provided enough votes to refuse the application, although the recorded video did not indicate all who voted to oppose.

The vote was not recorded, but Councillor Leslie Payne asked that her vote opposing the motion to deny the Temporary Use Permit be recorded. Six city council members, plus the Mayor, make up the Nelson City Council.