Regina city council passed a motion during its meeting on Wednesday that approves the first zoning amendment for a new development in the northwest part of the city.
The discussion centered around the proposed Coopertown neighbourhood with the motion focusing on phase one of development.
However some residents who live in surrounding neighbourhoods near the area, such as Westhill and Edgewater, are voicing their concerns regarding the project.
Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, the City received 26 letters from citizens wanting to address concerns of the development.
Many of the concerns from residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods listed an increase in noise pollution and traffic in the area in recent years, suggesting that introducing more residents in the area could result in more of these instances.
Delegates said the area has a lack of noise attenuation. In addition, with the concept plan stating Ninth Avenue North is set to become a high-speed expressway and eventually a freeway which would be an extension of the Ring Road, concerned citizens want to see the City undertake work to resolve these concerns.
“The concept plan for Coopertown phase one was well regarded and looked favourably upon,” said Regina Mayor Sandra Masters following Wednesday’s meeting.
“We just want to check in to make sure what appears to be an ongoing problem for a certain section of Ninth Avenue North is addressed prior to committing and putting the ink on a deal for Coopertown phase one to go ahead.”
Dream Development, the developers for the project, says the plan is to have about 36,000 residents live in the neighbourhood upon its completion.
“I think Coopertown has been a long time coming. I would suggest bringing more residential site options into the market is incredibly valuable right now,” added Masters. “We want to make sure we have enough inventory on the market so that we can house individuals who want to live here.”
When it came to vote on the motion, council voted 9 to 1 with Councillor Daniel LeBlanc being the sole vote against.
City council also approved a motion to explore the regulation of non-essential pesticide use.
Council gave the green light to city administration to compile a report that would look at the possible effects on the city’s biodiversity and the environment regarding the use of cosmetic pesticides.
However there was push back from a handful of council members as the work to address this matter is about $70,000, according to the report presented by city administration.
Funding would be drawn from the city’s 2022 operating budget.
“The community is probably largely split on it because that would be indications we received previously and some of the feedback we have received at city hall already,” stated Masters, who was one member of council against the motion.
“I think what’s going to come back is incredibly complicated, very difficult to enforce, but in terms of the city taking a leadership role, I would much rather spend the money on education and awareness for alternatives to the existing herbicide and pesticide use that folks are undertaking.”
The City is partnering with the University of Regina who will conduct research on the matter. The cost of work by the U of R is estimated at $24,350.
The estimated cost for city administration to develop and implement the market research and public engagement is $25,000.
About $6,000 to $12,000 would go towards stakeholder and resident focus groups to help inform the overall community discussion.
The development of a statistical market research survey would be approximately $10,000, while the promotion of a question and answer survey would cost somewhere around $5,000.
The motion vote went 7 to 3 with Mayor Masters and councillors Lori Bresciani and Terina Shaw voting against.
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