Liquor store receives green light

City of Powell River council has passed a recommendation to allow work at a proposed new liquor store location site to begin while it awaits new provincial liquor bylaws.

The decision was made at the Thursday, March 6, council meeting after much debate about whether new provincial liquor regulations would affect the decision to allow the liquor store to relocate.

Councillor Chris McNaughton pointed out that the bylaw amendment concerned an existing store only, located below the Westview Hotel, that would be relocated down the street to 4493 Marine Avenue, the previous site of Tempco Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Ltd. “The question of jurisdiction should be left to the province and council should leave the question of zoning up to the municipality,” McNaughton said.

Councillor Maggie Hathaway supported comments made by councillor Russell Brewer, saying that the proposed changes to the broader bylaw itself may not be the way to go, because there is some contention coming from the public. Hathaway suggested passing the zoning application at the address in question so that the applicant could proceed with the work. She also said the city could flag the issue for consideration of any broader changes that might be required after the provincial matters concerning new liquor bylaws are in place, possibly providing greater clarity on the issue before council.

A zoning bylaw amendment to allow liquor store use on any lands located within C1: General Commercial, C4: Tourist Commercial, MX: Mixed Use, MC: Milltown Centre and W1: Waterfront Commercial zones was voted down by council on February 20 and referred to the March 6 meeting.

Councillor Jim Palm shared his concerns regarding the number of liquor store outlets in Powell River and that the bylaw amendment seemed to imply that a liquor store could be erected on “every street corner.”

Carlos Felip, director of planning, suggested that dealing with the specific address in this circumstance rather than dealing with revision to the broader bylaw does not give the impression that the city is open for business. Felip said there was a need to defeat the bylaw and come at it from a broader perspective. “Council has always had the final say,” Felip asserted. “I have a great deal of difficulty with the notion that we are simply passing power to the liquor control board to designate where liquor store outlets can go. We have the final say. We do not want to be mandated.”