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As 7-Eleven prepares to serve alcohol at its Leamington location, the corporate’s software for Chatham remains to be transferring by means of the approval course of.

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The Alcohol and Gaming Fee authorized the corporate’s software for Leamington in December. The shop at 138 Erie St. was the primary 7-Eleven location in Ontario to be allowed to promote beer, wine and spirits to dine-in clients. A gap date remains to be to be introduced.

One other 60 places – together with 10 Grand Ave. W. in Chatham – had been proposed in early 2021 to observe the identical mannequin.

In keeping with the AGCO, the following step 7-Eleven should take for the Chatham location is securing three separate approval letters from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s hearth, constructing and well being departments.

These letters should state “that the premises meet the present municipal requirements or bylaws administered,” an electronic mail from the AGCO mentioned.

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Paul Lacina, the municipality’s director of constructing improvement companies, mentioned the request for these letters normally goes by means of the municipal clerk’s workplace, which might be forwarded to him for the constructing approval.

Up to now, he hasn’t acquired a discover about this property, he mentioned.

As soon as the approval is available in, Lacina mentioned he would ask questions concerning the firm’s plans for the situation. Promoting alcohol as a retail merchandise can be nice below the present zoning, he mentioned, however promoting it to be consumed inside would require a zoning change software earlier than he can provide his approval.

“The turnaround time for a response from us is fairly fast, however the different departments rely first for my evaluate of the zoning and what the truth is this entails,” Lacina mentioned.

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“If I come again and say we want a zoning software to permit this use, then the applying simply sits there till that course of is authorized. It could possibly be months for that course of to be authorized, relying on the dialogue and the knowledge that goes backwards and forwards from the proprietor applicant to the planning division.”

The AGCO confirmed this software is strictly for serving alcohol inside. Take-out and supply wouldn’t be permitted.

Some Chatham residents objected to 7-Eleven’s proposal earlier within the approval course of, in line with the AGCO. The general public discover interval for the applying was Feb. 12, 2021 to March 11, 2021, when eight Chatham residents raised a grievance.

This led to AGCO issuing a Discover of Proposal to 7-Eleven to evaluate the applying. All 61 functions in Ontario went by means of this step.

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The corporate exerted its proper to attraction the Discover of Proposal for Chatham at a License Attraction Tribunal convention on Jan. 10, 2022.

Tribunals Ontario, which oversees the License Attraction Tribunal, confirmed all eight Chatham residents who objected to the proposal had been knowledgeable of the convention forward of time.

Nevertheless, nobody attended the convention to object and the AGCO withdrew the Discover of Proposal, permitting 7-Eleven’s software to proceed.

A spokesperson for 7-Eleven supplied a short assertion concerning the firm’s ongoing plans to serve alcohol in Ontario.

“7-Eleven continues to advance its functions by means of the AGCO’s regular licensing course of,” the spokesperson mentioned in an electronic mail. “We’ll be sure you attain out when we now have an replace to share.”