News and notes from the March 12 regular meeting of Estevan city council.
It appears the two sides at odds over a proposed rental property on the 800 block of First Street will work towards a compromise.
Earlier this year council received a rezoning request from B&S Construction to build a four unit rental complex on a corner lot on the block. However, during the public consultation period, council received over 10 letters of concern from homeowners in the area who objected to the size of the building and also expressed concerns about a lack of parking in the area and an increase in traffic.
At a previous meeting, council elected to hold off on making a decision until they could hear from the developer, Joe Billesberger, and find out whether he would be amenable to making some changes to his proposal.
Billesberger was in attendance at the meeting and informed the members of council as well as the local residents that he was open to working with them, particularly regarding the size of the building and any possible parking issues.
"We are willing to change our design a little bit, possibly shrink the building in height, maybe put two suites in the basement so we will still maintain four but we also shrink it 10 plus feet," said Billesberger.
"Aside from that, I saw it as a good thing to demolish the deteriorating building and put up a brand new, efficient rental property, something Estevan is in dire need of. We are currently looking at expanding and bringing in workers and their families and have nowhere to set them up right now."
Following Billesberger's presentation, Councillor Roy Ludwig made a motion to set aside making a decision until they could see a new proposal.
"I'm not doing this building to anger anyone," added Billesberger. "I do want to build a relationship with the surrounding neighbours and residents, and I'll work with them to keep them happy."
Billesberger said he would attempt to have a new proposal for the March 26 meeting or the following one if that was not possible.
The minutes of the February 7 board of police commissioners meeting were presented. Kevin Smith was re-elected to the position of chairman for 2012 while Councillor Chris Istace will serve as the vice-chairman.
After a slow January, construction activity picked back up again in February according to the monthly building permits report.
After issuing just one permit in January, the City issued seven permits which had a combined value of $5.48 million. The majority of that dollar total came from multi-family permits. According to the report, permits were taken out for two multi-family structures, which will have 44 units combined. The value of the two permits was $4.75 million.
The January report for the Estevan Fire Rescue Service was also presented. Local firefighters attended to five fires or alarms during the month and four false alarms.
They were also called upon to handle three hazardous materials incidents.
