City council has approved updates to three bylaws that focus on freezing council’s pay, rezoning a church to allow for commercial enterprises and rezoning land for the Valley View re-development project.
Council gave three unanimous readings to each bylaw during its Jan. 29 regular meeting. The updates go into effect immediately since there was no opposition to them.
Council pay
During a special meeting in December, council voted to freeze the 2024 remuneration rate for mayor and councillors at 2023 levels, saving $8,049.28.
Therefore, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, the mayor will earn $106,384, councillors will earn $35,461, the deputy mayor will earn an extra $447.48 per month and the allowance rate for travel and education will be $166.97 per day.
Furthermore, the education and meetings expense appropriation will be fixed at $15,791 annually, the mayor’s car allowance will be fixed at $6,000 annually and the mayor will be entitled to the same out-of-city mileage rate as city employees for destinations over 250 kilometres.
Alliance Church
City hall issued public notices throughout the area for the proposed bylaw amendment and received zero written responses in opposition to the change.
There was a concern during that meeting about property taxes and whether on-site businesses had to pay them, but the report said that had been addressed. With the passing of the bylaw, city hall will now assess the property for taxes starting this year, while all tenants must have a business licence to operate.
“It is a big change for the Alliance Church in that matter, but hats off to them to keep their building open and to serve the neighbourhood,” said Coun. Heather Eby.
Valley View development
The bylaw update includes text amendments to add new definitions for topics such as business incubator, live-work units, pop-up retail, urban farming and shipping containers, adds DCD1 as a new section, and rezones the area from multiple zoning districts to DCD1 with hazard overlays, a report said.
The amendments help form a new zoning district that allows for comprehensive mixed-use developments where traditional zoning districts may not be suitable and accommodates rezoning to this new district, the document continued.
City hall issued public notices for the proposed bylaw amendment and received zero written responses in opposition to the change.
One stipulation in the bylaw is that the maximum building height in the DCD1 must be 45 metres (135 feet).
The bylaw contains 18 pages with many points and conditions that property owner Carpere Canada must follow, Eby said. She was pleased to support this update because she thought once development actually began, council would likely see the document several more times for further amendments.
“And hopefully, development happens out there,” she added.
The Valley View site will be Moose Jaw’s first DCD1, said Michelle Sanson, director of planning and development. The Valley View area is a special circumstance that will allow for different zoning designations not normally seen in regular zoning updates.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Feb. 12.
