November 18 was a busy night for Niverville’s council as they addressed a series of applications for new businesses and one variation request.

Council delivered good news to Forgotten Flavours owners Chris and Maria Holbrow. The couple had received their permit to operate a bakery and café at 69 Main Street some time ago, but the couple returned to council chambers with a request to increase the size of their eating and drinking establishment, including outdoor patio, from 16 seats to 25 seats.

Also receiving a unanimous thumbs up was Plan B Metalworks, a robotic metal fabrication company applying for permission to operate in the business park.

The company’s representative, Vernon, indicated the use of three robotic metal fabricators at this site, referring to them as cobots, or collaborative robots.

“Part of the idea is looking at some of the labour shortages that we’ve experienced in manufacturing and those cobots can really help in that matter,” he told council.

Canadian Prime Solutions Inc. was the final company to receive unanimous approval from council.

Operating from Kuzenko Street in the business park, this couple-owned business will offer cabinet manufacturing and a showroom, as well as office and storage space in one building that will span three commercial lots. Three to four individuals are expected to find employment here.

The couple have been operating another business in Winnipeg since 2014. The Niverville operation will allow them to expand their current product line into cabinet and bathroom vanities.

No to Cannabis Store

Not as successful at Tuesday’s council meeting were applicants Ketan and Jatin Patel. The duo sat in attendance to answer questions regarding their request to open a retail cannabis and vape establishment at Unit A, 237 Main Street, next to Subway.

To approve the variation request, council would need to allow for a change to their current bylaw, which states that a cannabis store cannot be located less than 1,000 feet from any school or indoor/outdoor participant recreation facility.

A precedent for a similar variation had already been created by council when the owners of Urban Flavours, the community’s original cannabis dispensary, were approved for business in December 2020. That outlet, at 41 Main Street, is located just 744 feet from the Niverville Elementary School. The successful variance resulted from a three-hour council meeting where arguments were heard from more than 80 proponents and objectors. Three council members eventually voted in favour, with one opposed.

Regarding this latest cannabis store proposal, the question among council revolved not so much about the business’s proximity to the elementary school as the fact that it would be located only 377 feet from the Youth for Christ drop-in centre to the east.

Only one opponent was in attendance at the Tuesday meeting, speaking as a representative of Urban Flavours.

“We were held to certain conditions when we were granted approval,” he told council. “The use of [the word] cannabis on the outside of the building, the logo and how we designed it, and so on. So if permission is given, I would request that this business also be held to the same types of conditions.”

CAO Eric King reminded council that all these conditions would be addressed in a development agreement if approval were provided.

The owner of the building, who is also the proprietor of Subway, assured council that he was familiar with the provincial standards regulating cannabis retail stores. As well, he stated that he is prepared to make changes to the building in order to accommodate this company, such as creating a barrier wall in the common entrance shared by Subway and the vacant space next door.

One letter of opposition was received in regard to this public hearing and it came from Hanover School Division trustee Dallas Wiebe on behalf of the Niverville Elementary School. The primary concern in his case reflected a misunderstanding that the 377-foot buffer outlined in the public notice was in reference to the elementary school.

Councillor Chris Wiebe made a motion to deny the variance request, which was seconded by councillor Bill Fast. Wiebe’s reasoning was that this request required council to reduce the buffer zone of 1,000 feet by 62 percent, a much more significant number than that of the Urban Flavours location.

“If we are so inclined to change that, we should [change the way the bylaw reads] instead of [making] a major variance of this degree,” Wiebe said.

Councillor Nathan Dueck expressed his own concerns in terms of putting restrictions on legitimate businesses that want to operate in Niverville.

“I think the idea of this bylaw is a good idea because it adds a layer when it comes down to protection for the community from something that could be considered not a valid business,” Dueck told council. “As the Chamber stated in the past, all legal businesses are welcome in the community… People have a choice whether or not to use it.”

In the end, council voted 3–1 to denying the variation request, with Councillor Dueck voting in favour.