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Coun. Elizabeth Peloza, whose Ward 12 takes in the area, said vehicle traffic in the parking lot, which also serves Farm Boy and Chapters, is going to be a problem.

“I would say traffic already is a concern in that parking lot,” she said.

“If (the lottery winner) gets the go-ahead to go into that location, the plaza owners might have to consider different traffic flow.”

Peloza is encouraging her constituents to raise any concern about the location with the alcohol and gaming commission — a 15-day objection period runs until March 7 — or in person at her town hall meeting March 6.

Municipalities have no say where cannabis retailers are located. The commission requires only that the businesses be more than 150 metres from schools.

This is the second proposed cannabis retailer for London. Earlier this month, Christopher Comrie applied to the commission to open one in the former Oarhouse restaurant at 666 Wonderland Rd. N.

The commission is allowing 25 marijuana retailers to open beginning April 1. Licences to open the first brick-and-mortar retailers were doled out in a Jan. 11 lottery that drew more than 17,000 expressions of interest.

Seven of the 25 licences were allocated to the province’s west region, an area stretching from Windsor to Waterloo to Niagara Falls that takes in London.

The operators must submit a retail licence application with extensive detail on the timeline for getting a cannabis store up and running. They’ll face a background check, including scrutiny of tax records and financial statements. The 25 winners also must submit a $50,000 letter of credit and pay a non-refundable $6,000 fee to the commission.

If applicants don’t pass the background check, the province will turn to a wait list. Retailers that fail to open by April 1 will be fined $12,500; those still not in business by the end of that month get dinged $50,000.

E-mail: dcarruthers@postmedia.com | Twitter: @DaleatLFPress