A Vancouver pot dispensary owner says he is keeping his doors open in defiance of an “unfair” appeals process for shops located close to schools and community centres, which are prohibited under the city’s strict buffer zone bylaws.

Chuck Varabioff, who owns the BC Pain Society dispensary, says he and more than 100 other pot shop owners in the city are facing fines and other repercussions if they don’t close their doors by Saturday.

According to the city, 62 of the 176 applications for pot business licences failed, because many violate a city bylaw enacted in July that does not allow pot dispensaries within 300 metres of schools, community centres or any other locations that offer youth services or programming.

But Varabioff and other dispensary owners say they intend to stay open after the deadline.

“The reason I’m staying open is because I feel the appeal process was totally unfair and the last thing I want to do is fight or argue with the city because I do agree with them that licensing has to be put into place,” he said.

Varabioff said that when he took his case to the Board of Variance, the board had never dealt with a situation involving a marijuana dispensary. He said the board denied his appeal without giving it fair consideration.

The board also denied every request for an exemption from the 300-metre rule it heard during the first three weeks of appeals, he said.

So far, the board has heard 18 of 62 medical marijuana-related appeals. Only four exemptions have been granted, while 11 have rejected. The other three have either been postponed or withdrawn.

Varabioff said his dispensary has a database of 15,000 clients, many of whom “will be forced to buy from the black market or pay inflated prices elsewhere” if the city forces him to shut down. He added that his dispensary serves about 500 medical marijuana users a day.

The city has said it will begin taking enforcement action against unlicensed dispensaries this weekend. Fines start at around $250 for each bylaw infraction. Court-imposed fines, however, can be as much as $10,000.

Varabioff said he intends to pay the fines and stay open, unless the city files a court order for him to shut down.

With files from CTV Vancouver and CTV News Channel