City council in Merritt has approved two more applications for retail cannabis stores, but it wasn’t without some opposition.

Director of Corporate Services Sean Smith says the concerns about a store at 3320 River Ranch Road by the Coquihalla was around traffic in the area.

“Traffic is quite heavy as is, there was some worries that this additional business might potentially bring even more traffic and congestion to the area,” he said. “So there was some discussion around that at the council table, but ultimately council did vote in favour of that by a 5-2 majority.”

The other proposed store is in downtown Merritt at 1999 Voght Street, approved in a 4-3 vote.

“We already have two shops that council has approved in the downtown area, and so I think some of the concern might have been a little bit more around location. The applicant presented very well and professionally, and ultimately council ended up voting in favour of that.”

Smith says council has now supported four private stores, with the other two also downtown on Quilchena and Nicola avenues.

“Many residents, that when we talk about downtown revitalization or looking at filling empty store fronts, that they would have some alternate preferences for what businesses would go in there,” Smith added.

“As a city, we recognize that this is a legal industry and that this is one opportunity to potentially fill some vacant storefronts.”

None of the approved stores have gotten a licence from the province yet.