Those looking to set up a retail cannabis store in Red Deer County will first have to go through the municipal planning commission.

Council approved bylaw changes on Tuesday to help ensure Red Deer County is ready once marijuana becomes legal.

“This is all brand new to Red Deer County. It’s not legal yet in Canada, but we’re trying to be ready,” said Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood.

Cannabis retail operations in Red Deer County will be considered discretionary under the newly-passed regulations, therefore MPC approval is required. Wood says this means the public will get their say before an operator sets up shop.

It also means cannabis stores will be allowed only in general commercial, highway commercial and comprehensive town centre districts. There’s no limit on how many cannabis stores will be allowed in the county, but there are limits on how close to each other they can be located. Provincial rules limiting cannabis store operating hours to 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. and minimum setbacks from schools, healthcare facilities and other sensitive land uses are also part of the new county regulations.

“There are probably some places that are more appropriate than others. Some maybe go together, maybe a liquor store and a pot store side by side might work out good, I don’t know,” Wood said. “That’s the idea of bringing it forward to our planning commission. They’ll be able to take a look at what the local area looks like, does it make sense or not.”

Wood says only time will tell what effect retail cannabis stores will have in Red Deer County, if any.

“I guess we’ll just have to see how it works. We don’t know, at this point and time, how much this will affect our communities. But we are trying to make sure that we follow the guidelines from someone who’s done a lot more study on it than we have.”