VANCOUVER City Council on Tuesday night voted at a public hearing to approve zoning bylaw amendments that will permit the sale of liquor in grocery stores.

A new retail definition, “Grocery Store with Liquor Store,” will replace the previous definition of a grocery store, which included drug stores. Drug stores will not be permitted to sell liquor.

These amendments will allow qualifying grocery stores to sell liquor in their store via a store-within-a-store model. Specific policies and guidelines related to the sale of liquor in grocery stores will be reported to Council in early May. If approved, City staff anticipate accepting applications as of May 14.

“Over the last few years, we have undertaken extensive public and stakeholder consultation regarding updates to the City’s liquor policies,” said Kaye Krishna, General Manager, Development, Buildings and Licencing. “These amendments not only balance the public’s request, but also bring our liquor bylaws in line with provincial regulations.”

The approval of these bylaw amendments are the next step to implementing the City’s liquor policy recommendations, which were approved by Council in June 2017.

Learn more about liquor policy updates by visiting vancouver.ca/liquor-policy