Humane Society getting a new home

Regina city council met virtually twice this week to address a long list of agenda items. Here’s a look at some of the items that were wrapped up after nine hours of deliberations.

NEW HOME FOR THE REGINA HUMANE SOCIETY

Council approved a rezoning and discretionary use application brought forward by the Regina Humane Society (RHS), which will pave the way for its new home in Harbour Landing. Ten years in the making, the current 50-yearold shelter will be replaced by a modern animal community centre that is meant to celebrate the relationship between humans and animals as well as enable the community to engage more with the RHS, including its education and volunteer programs.

CHANGES TO SIGN PORTION OF THE ZONING BYLAW

In an attempt to balance concerns over visual integrity with those of the sign industry, council approved a number of changes to the sign portion of the Regina Zoning Bylaw, which was revamped last summer. The changes were recommended by city administration based on consultation with industry. They include reducing the required lot frontage to 70 metres from 90 metres to allow for a second portable sign, reducing the separation distance between a portable sign and a permanent billboard to 10 metres from 30 metres and adding the former smallsign regulations from the old to the new Regina Zoning Bylaw, which administration found helpful in addressing some sign types that other regulations did not clearly cover.

PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS

Council approved five recommendations crafted by administration regarding the city’s role in the

Plan to End Homelessness. They agreed to endorse the plan, which was revealed in June 2019, commit $20,000 a year for the next three years to the systems planning organization as selected by the Regina Homelessness Community Advisory Board, to call upon the provincial and federal government on which the plan hinges to endorse and fully fund the plan and directed administration to develop a housing and homelessness stream with funding options to be considered in the 2021 budget process.

BRANDT/CNIB MOTION

Council has passed a motion designed to show city support for transparency and thorough public consultation surrounding the Cnib/brandt building in Wascana Park. The motion recommends the Provincial Capital Commission (which oversees Wascana Centre) publish the “detailed public consultation plan” as recommended by the provincial auditor. It also asks that a public consultation process be undertaken in accordance with that plan for the complete building, including both the CNIB portion and all other portions of the building “in a timely fashion” so that the feedback can be considered by the PCC board and its advisers. The CNIB has already committed to two additional public engagement sessions.

COMPENSATION REVIEW COMMISSION

Council has also approved a review of elected official compensation (mayor and city councillor salaries) through the creation of a Compensation Review Commission comprised of three citizen members from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and the Regina Chamber of Commerce. Any changes in salary recommended by the commission would not come into effect until Jan. 1, 2021, after the next municipal election.