City approves controversial development in north Regina

REGINA – City council has approved what’s become a controversial development plan for north Regina.

Pending provincial approval, the housing community could soon pop up along Winnipeg Street, north of Uplands on a parcel of land between the Evraz steel mill and the Co-op Refinery. It, however, has raised some red flags with representatives from the RM of Sherwood, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, Co-op and the Ministry of Environment.

“There’s potential for nuisance issues such as odours or noise that residents in the area may experience,” said Wes Kotyk, executive director of the ministry’s Environment Protection Branch.

Those are concerns Co-op shares, and representatives have told the city the area is not the best place for a new development.

“The prevailing winds in Regina are such that this neighbourhood will be downwind from those two major industrial facilities the vast majority of the time,” said Co-op’s vice-president of corporate affairs, Vic Huard.

Longtime uplands resident Ken Ross says there would be no appeal to moving out there.

“I don’t really see the aesthetic value to get that far north now,” he said. “Especially since you’ve got the trains running right through it, too.”

The project’s developer, Earth King Investments Ltd., said it has voluntarily decided to notify builders that the development would be in close proximity to industrial land. But, says Bobby Pawar, the company’s owner, if it was not safe, the project would not have made it this far.

“This is just an extension of the Uplands area,” Pawar said. “Going forward, this was already deemed to be built for residential in the official community plan (in 2004).”

Discussions between the city and Earth King Investments have been ongoing since 2009. The city says the neighbourhood will help alleviate Regina’s housing crunch. Staff has helped the developers come up with ways to make it work.

Diana Hawryluk, the city’s planning director, feels most of the risks have been mitigated by allowing a buffer between the train tracks and the houses. She says recent upgrades from Co-op have also improved the smell and noise.

“We felt that looking at all those different risks and the things the developer can do within the concept plan that it can be a suitable development site for residential,” she said.