ESTEVAN - Estevan city council discussed a number of matters for land development services during its meeting on Feb. 12.
One was to grant a bed and breakfast licence for a property at 902 Second Street. In a report to council, land development services manager Richard Neufeld noted the property has a detached garage that has a secondary suite used for short-term rentals.
The landowner would like to have the land formally recognized as a bed and breakfast, Neufeld said. The suite area might then be treated as a commercial property. He pointed out that since the secondary suite has been there, there haven't been any complaints, although the city did receive an objection about the bed and breakfast from a neighbouring property concerned with privacy.
"This approval … would not change the use there at all, but would give this landowner standing as a recognized bed and breakfast operation so that this landowner could then potentially take part in accommodation listings when there is an event in the city," Neufeld said.
The bed and breakfast will need to have a business licence and provide sufficient off-street parking.
Neufeld noted short-term rental housing is very difficult to regulate, especially in smaller communities. The City of Regina has three staff members on this issue with Airbnb and other platforms.
Neufeld also delivered the annual land development summary report, as part of the Our Estevan initiative a few years ago.
He pointed out that due to a change in policy, in which a development permit is no longer issued with the building permit for single-detached dwellings and residential accessory buildings, the number of development permits jumped from 43 to 73 in 2023, which he expected.
Another 16 development permits were issued in January of this year.
He also went through enforcement, appeals, subdivision activities, zoning bylaw amendments building permits, construction value and more.
He said the department is expecting better numbers for building permits this year, but there were no building permits issued in January, compared to two in the first month of 2023.
There were 639 business licences last year, compared to 637 in 2022.
He noted Fourth Street's downtown blocks were at 91 per cent occupancy, compared to around 75 per cent when he moved to the Energy City a few years ago. Fifth Street needs some attention, he said, but Fourth Street is doing well.
"If your vacancy rate is under 10 per cent, you're doing pretty good," he said.
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Council approved support for the Southeast Women of Distinction Awards on May 2 at the Wylie-Mitchell Building.
The event's organizing committee, named Women 4 Women, came to council asking for use of 40 tables, a section of stage, and piping and drapes, along with help for setup and take down. The estimated cost is $2,000. Volunteers from the committee will help.
Council members had questions about using tables and chairs from the Wylie-Mitchell instead, renting round rather than rectangular tables, balancing the workload for city staff at that time of year and dealing with a potentially soft ground near the Wylie-Mitchell building in early May, but they ultimately approved the request.
The city will be an emerald sponsor for the event.
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City council approved its memberships for a couple of groups for this year. One is the South East Transportation Planning Committee for $726, which is a 10 per cent increase from the previous year. The committee provides a voice to the province on roads in the area. Members have also provided economic updates in recent years.
The other is the Hudson Bay Route Association for $300. Coun. Tony Sernick suggested having a Zoom meeting with the group to get an update on their efforts.
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In the inquiries portion of the meeting, Coun. Kirsten Walliser suggested it is time for the city to streamline its online offerings. She pointed out the city has a lot of great websites, but people don't always know where to turn.
