MOOSE JAW — City council has approved an application from a developer to subdivide land on Caribou Street West, with that parcel currently containing a building housing the offices of four area rural municipalities.
During its March 10 regular meeting, council voted unanimously to approve a proposed subdivision application for 1410 Caribou Street West, which has the Regional Municipal Plaza office building and an accessory structure in the rear yard known as the “tin building.”
Mercury Services, a sports craft and vehicle business, is adjacent to the property to the northwest.
The applicant proposes subdividing 0.3 hectares (0.73 acres) from the existing 0.579-hectare (1.43-acre) parcel to create a new lot — Parcel X2 — to sell to a prospective buyer, with the buyer planning to use the new parcel for outdoor storage with a commercial component, a council report said.
However, the developer does not propose changing how the existing office building is used on the remainder of the parcel, known as Parcel X.
The Official Community Plan bylaw designates Parcel X2 for light industrial use, while the zoning bylaw designates the entire property as a heavy industrial (M2) district, which is intended for large-scale and major industrial uses that may require significant land area and could generate noise, odour or other forms of pollution, the report said.
The M2 district allows the intended uses of the two parcels — office space on Parcel X and outdoor storage on Parcel X2 — to happen, while the two parcels will both comply with the minimum development standards, including site area, yard setbacks and site coverage, the document continued.
“If a subdivision results in a new parcel containing an existing building, the classification of that building must be reviewed to determine whether it serves as a principal building or an accessory building,” the report noted.
A principal building is considered the main structure on a site that must comply with M2 District setbacks, including 7.5 metres in the rear yard and 1.5 metres in the side yard, the document said.
Also, an accessory building is considered a secondary structure on the same site, with more lenient setback requirements, including zero metres unless the building has an overhead door facing a property, in which case the setback must be 1.5 metres.
The buyer confirmed with city hall that the tin building will continue to function as an accessory building used for cold storage, that no building alterations are proposed and the buyer is not making any requests for water, sewer or stormwater infrastructure connections, the report said.
Since the principal activity on Parcel X2 will be outdoor storage, city hall will continue to classify the tin building as an accessory building, which will continue to meet all zoning regulations and not require relocation, the document continued.
The city’s building official reviewed past permit plans, conducted a site visit and confirmed that the proposed subdivision does not create any non-compliance issues, the report noted.
Meanwhile, Parcel X has two private crossings from Caribou Street West, while the subdivision will not affect access since each parcel will retain a private crossing.
Also, a shared access agreement is not required since the application meets the legal and physical access requirements, and the engineering services branch reviewed the proposal and had no concerns about site access due to the private crossings, the report added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 24.
