News Business Regulations
Sights set on slashing cost of cannabis business licences in city

By Timothy Schafer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

THE NELSON DAILY

The City is moving to level the playing field for some Nelson businesses.

A significant reduction will be coming to the business licence fee that cannabis retail operations pay to the City of Nelson, after a request from cannabis retailers was made in 2022 to reduce license fees for “retail: recreational cannabis” was given third reading.

The current fee for a recreational cannabis retail store is $2,500 per year. However, a City staff report recommended that it was “reasonable” to amend the cannabis retail business license fees to match “retail wine and beer” — dropping the fee from $2,500 to $210.

“This will bring the business licence fee in line with other similar businesses,” said City director of Development Services and Climate Leadership, Sebastien Arcand, in his report to council on Nov. 7.

It would be appropriate for the City to lower the cannabis retail business licence fee to match that for retail wine and beer, Arcand said in his report.

“The high cannabis retail business licence fee reflects that when they were first created in the wake of legalization, there was some speculation that the City resources these businesses might require would be higher than of a typical business,” said Arcand.

City departments involved with business licensing – for the departments of issuance, inspection and enforcement – determined that cannabis retail did not require additional resources. In addition, neighbouring municipalities were also consulted to compare fees for cannabis retail.

The review concluded that the fees in Nelson were significantly higher.

Cannabis retailers will be informed of the amendment once council adopts it.

Modification of business licence fees requires an amendment to the Fees and Charges Bylaw.

By the numbers

In 2023, the City issued four business licenses for cannabis retailers.

Should this number remain the same in 2024, the City would see a reduction of $9,160 in business licensing revenues.

In review

At the time of request, City staff considered reviewing the entire Business License Bylaw and associated business license fees to ensure that all fees are fair and reasonable.

A comprehensive review of the Business License Bylaw and associated fees will be required in the next few years.

A complete review of the bylaw would be a significant undertaking and should be adequately resourced and included in departmental workplans. Staff will be determining when and how the review should best take place in the future, said Arcand.