Estevan city council tabled a proposed new development for Fifth Street during their meeting on Monday night.
The developer, Daniel Gebrekidan, would like to build a new three-storey, mixed-use building that would serve commercial and residential purposes.
The first storey would be a laundromat, while the second and third storeys would boast eight residential suites over the two floors. The new development will replace two older existing commercial buildings, which also contain three upper level suites.
But council members voiced concerns over parking. A minimum of 19 on-site parking stalls would be required.
The development can only provide up to 10 on-site parking stalls, five of which would be located in front of Fifth Street. The other five would be located behind the building.
Front yard parking would also result in the loss of two on-street parking stalls.
Gebrekidan indicated he would be willing to lease nine parking stalls from a nearby city-owned parking lot to create the necessary number of stalls.
Council referred the development until their next meeting so they can resolve the parking issue.
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The annual usage fee at the airport will increase.
Council approved an increase of $400 per year for all planes. Small planes will see their rates jump from $200 to $600 per year, while large planes will increase from $600 to 1,000 each year.
The money will be used for infrastructure improvements at the airport.
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A deed of gift for the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) was approved. The EAGM wanted the deed of gift for two works that are in their permanent collection. The EAGM needs the legal title without restrictions.
Mayor Roy Ludwig expects the two works were likely given to the city years ago, and then turned over to the EAGM.
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Council approved a property realignment for the 1200 block of Sixth Street.
A city-owned property at 1230 Sixth Street will be sold to Wendy Lacoste and Guy Knight, who own the properties to the east and the west, respectively, of the city-owned lot.
Ludwig said the sale has been lingering for some time.
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The building permit report for August shows there were 10 permits, with a total value of more than $2.03 million, issued last month. Six of the permits were under the miscellaneous category. The overall numbers for the year are 56 permits with a value of more than $7.8 million.
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Council gave first reading to a bylaw to realign parking in the 300 block of 11th Avenue in front of city hall. Two-way traffic will continue, and the west side of the street will retain its current parking alignment. The east side of the street will be converted to angle parking for city employees. Councillor Brian Johnson voted against the motion due to concerns over traffic flow.
