Rob Carnie - It's a brand-new edition of Take 5 with Carnie and Carmichael, featuring Moose Jaw city manager Maryse Carmichael.
The zoning bylaw amendment that is tied to federal funding has been passed. A lot of Moose Jaw residents were quite outspoken on social media; they had a lot of questions about this amendment that will allow fourplexes to be built in certain neighborhoods, then they learned it's all tied to federal funding.
So, if we want to get that federal funding we had to amend the zoning bylaw. Tell us the story, please.
Maryse Carmichael – Yes, so Moose Jaw has a great opportunity to (apply), and we have already applied for federal funding for major infrastructure.
In our case, we have applied for (federal funding), and as many residents know, we need to build a new lift station, the Crescent View Lift station. There is a plan, and we have to build it. It's a project that will be worth $66 million, and we were able to apply for federal funding for $26.56 million.
One requirement from the federal government is to allow (four-unit housing) in some neighborhoods in the city. When I say (four-unit housing), I have to really qualify it because there are still a lot of restrictions, there are some requirements that homeowners or developers will have to follow in terms of parking, in terms of height of the building, and all that.
Many cities across Saskatchewan have already done it. Saskatoon has done it, in Regina and across Canada, and this is a chance to receive federal funding.
It will not drastically alter our neighborhoods; it's an opportunity for people. Let's say you want to have a granny's house, a tiny home in your backyard. If you have a bigger backyard, as long as you meet all of the development requirements, then you will be allowed to do that.
So, it’s important for our city, we cannot fund all our infrastructure renewal (projects) with the budget that we have. If we can have the help from the federal level of in this country, then it's much appreciated.
Rob - I don't think we're going to see developers rushing into Moose Jaw, buying properties, tearing down houses, and building fourplexes that's not going to happen.
Maryse - I don't think it will. It will not happen in the coming months or years for sure. It is an opportunity if there's a location, let's say downtown or where there's a home that can be demolished and rebuilt. Perhaps they'll put a two-unit property there, or in some other areas where there's bigger lots, that's possible. But again, some strict requirements need to be met in order to be able to do that.
Rob - And we do, in fact, need more housing in our city.
Maryse - Our city is growing, and that's another reason why we need to upgrade the Crescent View Lift Station. That will allow us to continue to have even more people.
We have the Westheath development close to our new joint-use school, we have West Park. The city is growing and everyone is flushing their toilets, everyone is using (our storm water system). It needs to be processed somewhere, and it needs to be processed at the Crescent View Lift Station.