Moose Jaw City Council believes more consultation is needed before they vote on a rezoning bylaw concerning a corner lot near École St. Margaret School.
The proposed bylaw amendment would rezone 476 Stadacona Street East from R1 – Large Lot Low Density Residential District to R2 – Medium Density Residential District.
The bylaw amendment application was brought forward by a developer who would like to purchase the empty lot and construct five two-storey townhouses. The property has been vacant since a demolition permit was approved in 2021 for the previous one-unit dwelling on site.
Local residents voiced their concerns at Monday night's council meeting, with the main concern being around parking.
"We already face significant strife when it comes to trying to find parking, especially during school months. The proposed development would only provide one designated parking spot per unit, but we all know that many families have multiple vehicles," said Anna Kwasnica. "Most of us have had trouble parking on a normal day in front of our own home, not to mention the countless issues we face as homeowners with proximity to the school. We have to deal with buses barreling down our street, parents parking illegally, people stopping that block crosswalks, etc. If this multi-unit development goes ahead, these issues will be exacerbated for the people already living here."
Kwasnica also had concerns that if the bylaw was changed and the current deal didn't materialize, another developer might come in and establish low-income housing on the location.
"This will significantly reduce all of our property values in the area. That's something that a lot of us have already faced after the hospital was demolished," she added.
There were also concerns raised about the look of the proposed new development, which Kwasnica says wouldn't fit in with the mix of turn-of-the-century homes and houses built in the 1940's and 50's.
Councillor Doug Blanc also had reservations about the parking.
"I have some concerns and I understand that the developer is going to have to have one parking stall per unit but as was indicated by some of the residents, a lot of people have more than one vehicle. Some have two, some have three, depending on the number of drivers in the family. If that was a duplex, or even a threeplex, people might be okay. But I just don't think that there's quite enough room...There's businesses around the corner that I see park on that side of the street, so I have some problems there."
In an effort to conduct further consultations with the developer and local residents, a motion was made by Councillor Crystal Froese to table the bylaw until the September 11 regular council meeting.
"We're looking at changing a zone. When we look at an issue like this, I think it's our responsibility to also consider the existing zone that it's in currently and the neighbours that are surrounding that and I don't think they feel like their answers have come to them very clearly and as well I don't think we've heard enough from the developer to see what this development might look like," said Froese.