13th Regular Meeting of 2009 - August 18

Power of a Tower, and We Only Want THIS Green Space


ABSENTEES: Councillors Martin Ring and Shawn Williams

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: 356 pages

PUBLIC GALLERY: Brian Howell, Brian Clavier, Ron Burns, Rick Potratz, Kelly Skiffington, Ron Burns, James Harris, Janita Kohlruss, Jim Bahr, Marina Lyons, Michel Lanoie, Eric Lanoie, Darwin Zurakowski, Shane Lazarowich, and about twenty-five others (18 in the foyer).

START: 4:03 PM


Public Hearing: Bylaw to Allow an Increase in Garage Sizes - from a Maximum of 10% of Lot Area to 12% (550 square feet to 600)

- Brian Clavier spoke against the proposed change. He disagreed with "the heart and soul of this bylaw," describing his 240-square-foot garage, on a 4,680 square-foot property, as large enough: if he increased his garage to the currently-allowable 468 square feet for his pre-1987 home, it would look "absolutely ridiculous" on his lot, and have room for three cars. Rather than responding to "needs of the citizens" [while there had been "several requests" for larger garages, only two appeals to the local Development Appeals Board were about this issue], he said this was all about WANTS, and it promotes vehicle ownership, sending people the wrong message, because it allows building enormous garages house them, at the expense of green space.

- THE VOTE (to refer to the bylaws portion of the meeting): in favour [with no comment].


Public Hearing: Bylaw to Allow Secondary Suites in the West Hill, Crescent Acres, Crecent Heights, Carlton Park, and Riverview

- Brian Clavier spoke in favour of the bylaw. He said it was long overdue, created a level playing field throughout the city, and would help with the city's housing shortage by creating more affordable living spaces in the city.

- THE VOTE (to refer to the bylaws section of the meeting): in favour.


Public Hearing: Medical Office Building at 2345-10th Avenue West, with 166 Parking Spaces

- Brian Clavier spoke against allowing the development to go ahead as proposed. He cited the city requirement for 130 parking spaces, compared to the 166 being proposed: the extra 36 spaces should require payment of a fee to the city (he suggested $500 annually), since parking spaces have no function other than to store empty vehicles, and they create additional runoff that must be handled by the sewer system in perpetuity. He suggested that developers be permitted to add parking spaces only up to 10% more than the city requirement, for a total of 143 in this case, and that the money saved by not constructing the other 23 at this location be used for pedestrian and cycling amenities, as well as a bus stop. Finally, he noted that this is a health region project, and that they should be interested in promoting something besides unnecessary parking spaces.

- THE VOTE (to approve the development permit application): in favour.


Public Hearing: $8 Million Long-term Loan Shifted from CIBC to CMHC [a full rendering of this item can be found in the "Off the Rails 9" post, dated August 20, 2009]

- Brian Clavier spoke about the $222,000 this would save, but said that the city should have the legal opinion that council sought before it passes the bylaw. He was also concerned that the increase in the annual loan payment (compared to borrowing the money from CIBC) should be compared directly to actual "operational savings." He used a comparison of his water bills from January 2001 and August 2009 as an example of how 'self-funding' of utilities can be unfair.

- City Manager Cotterill called Mr. Clavier's comments "totally erroneous," explaining that council had received the legal opinion on cancelling the CIBC contract [two hours earlier, at an in camera meeting, the content of which was not transmitted to the press or public], and there was no penalty to the city because the money had not been transferred. [He did not comment about the water utility increase.]

- Councillor Dionne congratulated city staff for their work on this, saying "we make sure we protect our residents" where big loans are involved, and noted that "the researcher" [Mr. Clavier] should do more research before making "false statements" [although actual acquisition of the legal opinion in question would have involved illegal activity . . . .]

- THE VOTE (to refer to the bylaws portion of the meeting): in favour.

4:33 PM

Don't Like Our Decision? Try Again Later!

- Darwin Zurakowski said he was not aware of his request for an 88-foot tower at 597-28 St .West being dealt with at the July 20 meeting [where the permit was denied - see the August 19 post for the 12th Regular Meeting of 2009. He wrote to council, asking for a second look]. He said there were no objections to the tower from the neighbours, aesthetics would be addressed by putting in flower beds [88 feet high?], two cameras would be located on the tower [providing content for http://www.patoday.ca/Default.aspx - but not visible as of September 15 . . . .] , and people would come to spend money in the city [apparently, as a result of the publicity afforded by the cameras].

- Councillor Dionne was opposed to the tower, because this is a residential area. He said one came down on 27th Street West last month. He was concerned about where the cameras would be aimed.

- Councillor Swystun moved that council re-consider the tower permit on September 8 [on which date it was approved . . . .]

- Councillor Gervais said this was new information, and that "we should support business people."

- Councillor Matheson said this was "different" from what was presented previously [an explanation of Priority Computer's need for the tower was the only additional information provided] .

- Mr. Zurakowski complained/explained there had not been "back and forth" communication with council.

- Councillor Dionne wondered why "all these towers" were needed, saying "Technologically, we're going backwards!"

- Councillor Matheson asked if there was a process problem. Mr. Zurakowski replied that there was a "disconnect."

- Economic Development Director Corneil pointed put that the original application had come from the property owner, not Mr. Zurakowski, so conversations were with the owner. City Clerk Skauge confirmed that there had been no correspondence received from Mr. Zurakowski except for his July 21 letter.

- Councillor Gervais said council needed to re-consider this.

- THE VOTE (to re-consider the tower application at the September 8 council meeting): 6 - 1 in favour, Dionne opposed.



Residents Say NO to Loss of Privately-owned 'Green Space'

After initially postponing a decision on the Northern Spruce proposal for townhouses at 5th Avenue & 22nd Street West at its June 23 meeting [see the blog posting http://pacouncilnotes.blogspot.com/2009/08/11th-regular-meeting-of-2009.html] , there was a public meeting at the PA Inn on July 28 [attended by the project architects, the Mayor, four city councillors, PAGC Grand Chief Ron Michel, chiefs from three PAGC First Nations, and about fifty other people] to clarify the proposal and allow residents to vent their concerns.

- Michel Lanoie spoke against the townhouse development, repeating the content of her August 11 letter. [The Mayor allowed her to go beyond the 5-minute limit, to the tune of 6 minutes and 5 seconds, though he did ask her twice to "wrap up" her comments.]

- Eric Lanoie noted that the Mayor, Councillor Matheson, and Councillor Zurakowski were all wearing identical blue-on-blue striped ties. (At the Mayor's request, Matheson explained that this was in support of prostate cancer research.) He said the PAGC land should be considered for acquisition by the city, citing the Official Community Plan (Bylaw #27 of 2008), and saying that the proposed development did not "respect the character of the neighbourhood."

- Kelly Skiffington reminded everyone that the land in queston was not green space, but private land. She said that housing projects had to take quality of life into account, and there was no financial support from the city for this project.

- Brian Howell said that Northern Spruce was a good landlord, and, contrary to what West Hill residents might believe, there was no land available for purchase for affordable housing in the city.

- Marina Lyons, who taught First Nations students at Queen Elizabeth School [now Angus Mirasty School, run by PAGC] and Queen Mary School, was concerned about the future. She said there was a 65-year custom of neighbours being able to use the property, and the space is needed for children. She asked council not to "close off the future" [a comment that produced loud clapping from supporters in the foyer].

- Jim Bahr, speaking for himself this time [he had spoken for area residents at council's June 23 meeting], decribed his experience with aboriginal people "up north" as an educator, one who develops human potential. He dealt with developers in the US at the beginning of his career, finding that they are only interested in seeing developments proceed. His suspicions about this project arose from the limited information in the notice in the newspaper. He said the PA Inn meeting amounted to "people talking at us," and "us talking at them." He had asked for an agenda item for that meeting [which was sponsored by PAGC and Northern Spruce], but his request was not granted. It looked as though things were trying to be "snuck through." While the chiefs were heartfelt in their expression of the need for this housing, Northern Spruce was not paying attention to area residents. He said, "We need to establish trust again" [loud clapping was again generated in the foyer].

- Brian Clavier was denied permission to speak, the City Clerk stating that this was item 8.2, and that the public hearing on item 7.1 would come "after."

- Cathy Hoffmann said that "no one is against affordable housing," but this proposal would create a "segregated block." She asked if there were any studies on this. She said it is the reposnsibility of council to take into account that the numbers (of area residents present) showed they did not approve of this project: Every member of council has to listen to us. Your responsibility is to vote no. [Predictably, loud clapping again issued from the foyer.]

5:33 PM

- Councillor Swystun moved the recommendations. He said this was the only land subdivision being contemplated on the Angus Mirasty School property. Six city schools hace closed in the last 30 years. Of those, three had become housing, one became a business [the Gateway Mall], and two were retained by the school board [St Joseph's and St. Mark's] for their use. In this case, the city was excluded from considering the rest of the site's use. He complimented Northern Spruce for a reasonable compromise.

- Councillor Zurakowski [in whose ward the project is located] said the residents "have more power than you think you do." He asked about the storm sewer, noting there is none now under 5th Avenue, and who would pay for this - taxpayers or the developer.

- Director Coirneil said it could be the developer's cost.

- Councillor Zurakowski asked about the taxes on an institutional property, and an estimate of what the housing development would pay in taxes.

- Finance Director Day said that, as an educational institution, the property was currently exempt from taxes. Converting part of the property to rental accommodation would produce taxes of about 2% of the value of the property.

- Councillor Zurakowski commented that, when Queen Elizabeth School opened, the neighbours "embraced the space," and Angus Mirasty School had maintained it. He does not want affordable housing at the expense of green space: he wants to delay consideration, since "there should be an answer out there" to give a "win-win" [hopefully, one not involving yet another over-used cliche . . . .] He noted that there were two councillors absent [one working in Saskatoon, the other playing in a golf tournament], council has an obligation to listen, and postponement of the decision was not unreasonable. Further, politicians tend to think short term (3, 6, or 9 years), and those who think the space is underutilized are "thinking short term." [Loud clapping from the foyer.] He moved to table the matter to the September 21 council meeting.

- THE VOTE (to table re-zoning the land from I to R3 to the September 21 council meeting): defeated 3 - 2, Zurakowski and Matheson in favour, Dionne and Scarrow abstaining.

- Councillor Atkinson said the city needs attainable housing. There is no tax money going into this project, and there is a great need in the city for this housing. Prince Charles School was given over entirely to housing, and all members of council supported that. The need for housing is greater than the need for open space - and he was unclear about whether this property qualifies as open space.

- Councillor Gervais remarked that "sometimes it's our duty to make decisions that are unpopular." He reminded the audience that this was not a shopping mall or a strip club.

- Councillor Dionne said that it was possible that a fence could go up, preventing locals' access to the property. He was indecisive, saying "I don't know what to vote," but that another meeting would not help. This accommodationwas for a woman with kids who makes $50,000 a year. The new deisgn, he was certain, does try to satisfy the neighbourhood. He would have liked to postpone the matter until October [Zurakowski, fully aware that Dionne abstained from voting on the earlier tabling motion, gives an exasperated look and lifts Dionne's arm up at this point . . . .], leaving the decision to a new council. He concluded that selling 30% of the land back to the city for green space might solve the problem; but because the land is private property now it cannot be maintained by the city as green space.

5:57 PM


- THE VOTE (to re-zone the land from I to R3): 4 - 2 in favour, Zurakowski and Matheson opposed, Dionne abstaining.

Two people remain in the public gallery - Brian Clavier and Shane Lazarowich . . . .



Public Hearing: On the Grouping of Attached Dwellings at the Northern Spruce Site on 22nd St. West

[Realizing that the "action" on this housing project was already over, the majority of the public had left.]

- Brian Clavier congratulated council, for giving evidence that democracy had not evolved into plutocracy, or into "rule by the mob." He hoped that the 10 visitor parking spaces would be reduced, and said there should be no issues with respect to the storm sewer for the area. His comments ended with the statement, "You haven't just done the right thing, you've done the admirable thing."

- THE VOTE (to approve the development permit application): in favour.


And by the Way, We Want That Money


An August 16 letter from the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region was added to the agenda at the last minute. It asks for the $1.3 million the city holds in the Holy Family Hospital Trust Account, to be used to replace the Pineview Terrace building.


- THE VOTE (to transfer the money to the health region): 6 - 0, Councillor Zurakowski absent from the chamber.


6:14 Councillor Zurakowski returns
6:16 Public gallery expands by one.


Pave Our Street!

[Petitions to pave a street must be signed by at least 50% of the adjacent property owners. In 2009, there was funding from the province for the city's share of these projects. It is late in the year to be approving these.]

- Councillor Atkinson suggested that, when there are absentee landlords involved, "negative" petitions should be used.

- City Manager Cotterill said these streets would have been paved sooner, but the city did not know that the provincial money was coming.

- Councillor Swystun recollected that paving the 500 block of 12th St. West was proposed years ago, but the residents then had "petitioned it out " of the work schedule.

- Councillor Atkinson asked when the paving would be done. Public Works Director Colin Innes said "next year."

- Mayor Scarrow wanted to know how to continue this program [without cost to the city treasury]. He proclaimed, "We should analyze it and see if we can replicate it."


6:31 PM


The Mayor & Councillors Attended/Were Feted By . . . .

- Councillor Zurakowski reminded everyome about the approaching polka festival at the PA Exhibition Centre.

- Councillor Swystun mentioned the high profile of the golf tournament on at Cooke Municipal, which included 168 players from across the US and Canada.

- Mayor Scarrow added that Councillor Ring's tee-off time in this tournament was 1:40 PM, otherwise "he'd be here."



Lotsa Questions - Must be an Election Soon

- Zurakowski had six queries: is the city looking at any plastic recycling, specifically, recycling "secondary" plastic; worms are defoliating boulevards; can the traffic light power box at 22nd St. and 6th Ave. West be moved; can we look at options for dealing with low green space amounts in some areas of the city; and is there a "quota of affordable and attainable housing" in our developments? He would like a study on the last of these. Councillor Atkinson said there is report from the Housing Committee on this coming in council's next meeting cycle. Mayor Scarrow chimed in, "We need to look at areas that are green space - excluding schoolyards." Zurakowski was also concerned about the public notice wording, which says, "Council intends to re-zone . . . . " He wants this changed to "Council intends to consider re-zoning . . . ."


6:49 PM

Clean Up Dat Mess!

Mayor Scarrow's motion asking for a plan and recommendations for the overgrown, southeast area of Prime Ministers Park, abutting Andy Zwack Field, passed unanimously. [Community Services Director Zeeben previously informed council that this area had been a nursery at one time, but was left to "natural" regeneration some years ago.] A report on design options and cost estimates will be prepared by November 30, 2009.


And the Last Word:

Mayor Scarrow again thanked administration for their work.



END 6:51 PM