Monday - Aug. 12, 2024 - Abbotsford asked to up pot shop limit

☁ High 20C

Good morning!

Journalism is never a solitary activity. Even if we are writing alone in our offices, there is always community involvement. There are people we’ve talked to, researchers we’ve referenced, and community members we’ve polled. Today, we’re hoping you all will become part of the latter.

The poll below will help inform a future story Tyler is working on. He isn’t sharing details now because he doesn’t want to bias the poll results, but we hope you will share your thoughts all the same. You can participate in the poll below.

– Grace

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Which Harrison politician broke their oath?

Someone on Harrison council broke their oath of office. But local voters won’t be told who, even as two key players seek new offices in an upcoming byelection.

Harrison council recently revealed (some of) the results of an investigation into allegations of harassment and confidentiality breaches among council. The investigation began last fall, after a year that saw nearly all of Harrison’s executive staff quit. Although no one filed a complaint, council hired an independent investigator to conduct a “workplace culture assessment,” which resulted in formal complaints being made against two council members. Around the same time, council hired an investigator to look into a suspected breach of confidentiality by one of the council members.

The results of the investigations came back at the end of July; council released the results two weeks later—albeit without the names of any of the elected officials. 

• Today, Grace looks at what Harrison’s current council has to say about the investigations, and what it means for voters in the upcoming byelection.

Related

Need to Know

🚔 A Langley Mountie was struck by a vehicle while trying to make a traffic stop; the driver fled the scene, but a suspect was later arrested [Vancouver Sun]

👉 An Abbotsford man was arrested after police say more than a dozen people swarmed security guards at a Mission hotel where a large wedding was being held [Mission Record]

💰 A Langley man won $100,000 in a casino contest [Langley Advance Times]

🏥 The ER at Mission’s hospital was without doctors for 14 hours Saturday night and Sunday morning; Fraser Health called it a ‘temporary service adaptation’ [Fraser Health/X]

🗳 The NDP have nominated a child care professional to run in the Abbotsford South riding [Fraser Valley Today]

🏀 The Langley-based Vancouver Bandits lost in the final of the Canadian Elite Basketball League [TSN/CP]

🚨 A man died in an ATV crash in the Chilliwack River Valley last week [Hope Standard]

🚒 The Coquihalla Highway was closed Saturday after a vehicle crash sparked a grass fire; the blaze was quickly contained [Castanet]

🔥 Two new wildfires have been detected and remain out of control, but both are very small; one is located near Harrison Mills, the other is east of Chilliwack Lake [BC Wildfire Service]

📺 A new Netflix detective series was partially filmed in Langley [Langley Advance Times]

👉 A former Harrison Hot Springs councillor died earlier this month [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🚓 Mission police say three men threw a man down an embankment last month near Hayward Lake [Mission Record]

🖼 Chilliwack Mural Festival celebrates new murals with live music, interactive art, a market, and food trucks from August 15-17! Free admission, all ages welcome.*

*Sponsored Listing

The Agenda

Abbotsford asked to boost cannabis store limit to five

The City of Abbotsford has been asked to expand its limit on cannabis stores to permit a new weed shop in the Clearbrook area.

Online records show that an application was filed in late July by 1181168 B.C. Ltd, a company that has previously sought to open a cannabis store in Chilliwack. The proponent hopes to open a cannabis store at 31940 South Fraser Way—a property home to a large strip mall (the site is the location of Abbotsford’s Value Village).

To get the OK from city hall, the shop will not only require a rezoning amendment, the applicants will also need Abbotsford to change its cannabis policy. That policy, which was created in 2020, limits the number of cannabis stores in the city to just four. Shortly afterwards, the city approved four stores from seven applicants. Those stores are still operating, which means that any new store requires the city to increase its pot-shop limit. It has yet to do so.

When the city created its policy, it pre-zoned a handful of shopping centres, including the site of the proposed new store. The policy also stipulates that cannabis stores should be geographically dispersed across the city. The closest cannabis shop currently operating is Meta Cannabis Supply, which is about one kilometre east of the proposed site.

Othello Tunnels now set to re-open next week

The Othello Tunnels near Hope may finally welcome visitors next week. BC Parks has provided an update saying Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park would be re-opened “the weekend of August 19.” (It’s unclear which weekend the post refers to because August 19 is a Monday.)

The province previously announced that the park would partially re-open in July after the 2021 atmospheric river disaster had closed the popular attraction for more than two years. But last month, BC Parks announced the re-opening was delayed until mid-August. Engineers needed to re-install rock anchors that were found to be damaged, according to a statement obtained by Castanet.

The partial re-opening is anticipated to include the parking lot and the two closest tunnels. A full re-opening of the park is set for next summer, the province has said.

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🗓 Things to do

Plant removal: Join the Fraser Valley Conservancy today at 10am to remove morning glory from Horn Creek Park in Abbotsford. The event is free but registration is required. Details online.

Jazz concert: The Rue Saint Georges Sax Ensemble will be in Langley City’s Douglas Park on Tuesday, Aug. 13 for a concert starting at 7pm. Details online.

Trail rides: Discovery Ranch in Chilliwack is offering hour-long trail rides Monday through Saturday throughout the month of August. The trail rides go up to Elk Falls. Bookings and details online.

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