This Week at City Hall: Infrastructure Summit, Silence of the Hogs, Condo Conversions

Monday, May 10
CITY COUNCIL (5:30 pm): Harvard Developments will go before council to explain how their attempts to market high-density, multi-family housing in their Fairways West subdivision (in the far northwest of the city) has failed and they’ll be asking to rezone that land to be single-family, suburban neo-traditional housing. Apparently, they reckon there’s some call for that. Regina Planning Commission as recommend they should go ahead but there was a lot of discussion among the RPC over parking concerns (what else?). Expect that to come up again tonight. Council will also be asked to give the go ahead for more development in the Maple Ridge subdivision.

Council will then look at the first report to lay out plans for the National Infrastructure Summit to be hosted here from January 26 to 28 in 2011. You can get a sneak peek at a first draft of the summit’s agenda in the report and you’ll note that the prelimary budget estimates it will cost the city $115,000.

Next up, council will look at a recommendation from the Board of Police of Commissioners for the city to lobby the provincial government to introduce legislation to ban after-market modifications to motorized vehicles that “fail to reduce combustion noise”. Huzzah.

Wednesday, May 12
REGINA PLANNING COMMISSION (4 pm): Considering a plan for a funeral home 1265 Scarth Street. More exciting, the RPC will look at the revised development plan for the proposed hotel/condo complex slated for the Plains Hotel site.

Also looking at plans for a four-plex at on the 4400 block of 2nd avenue that would be used as a U-Turn house for at-risk youth.

After that, you thought there was a moratorium but you were wrong because this Wednesday we get to witness the return of CONDO CONVERSIONS!!! One at 1235 Grace Street and one at 4303 Rae Street. Administration is recommending the Grace conversion be approved because the current tenants all think it’s a grand idea. They’re recommending the Rae Street conversion be denied however because all the tenants who’ve responded to a city survey are opposed and feel the conversion will cause them hardship.

Anyway, before I wrap this up, a quick reminder: the city’s condo conversion policy says conversions must be denied if the city’s vacancy rate is below three per cent. The current vacancy rate is 0.6 per cent.

You can download reports and agendas on the city’s website.