HEAT OVER HOUSES
New development’s neighbours unhappy with plan to build two-storey homes
Kathy Thiele, her husband Neal Markewich and some of their neighbours are upset with a housing development going up on the 600 block of Campbell Street.
Concern is growing over a housing development in a Regina neighbourhood, and the developer believes a recent act of vandalism may be a result of community unrest.
The project began approximately two years ago, after the City of Regina sold an infill lot on the 600 block of Campbell Street to developer Bruce Evans.
Where grass, shrubs and trees once stood, survey stakes, dirt piles and a single, unfinished two-storey show home now stand among the surrounding bungalows.
Before Evans scrubbed the bright red paint off last Saturday morning, the word “NO,” bookended by two large x’s, glowed on the cement foundation of the house and a nearby project sign.
Prior to the incident, Evans said the back door had been kicked in twice and survey stakes had pulled out of the ground.
“I think that there has been a few … people in the area that were very upset that the city decided to sell the land and so they’re taking their frustration out on my project,” said Evans, who is also the Mayor of White City.
Karen Laroque has lived across from the lot for 18 years. She said she and her husband — like others in the neighbourhood — bought the house because they were told nothing would ever be built there.
“The kids learned how to bike over there. They learned how to play ball, football, golf. Why did they have to take it?” said Laroque.
“Shame on the city for allowing this.”
But according to Rob Court, director of land and real estate management for the City of Regina, the land was always designated for residential development.
“With a neighbouring property you should always understand the zoning of your neighbouring properties and the area you’re in. That’s something that’s standard practice when you purchase real estate,” said Court.
According to Evans, the development of the land follows the city’s Official Community Plan called Design Regina.
The plan encouraged at least 30 per cent of all new houses in the city to be built on “brownfield” — or infill — sites within existing neighbourhoods.
But Laroque and others said they felt blindsided by the sale, and wish they had been consulted more throughout the process. If the sale of the land was inevitable, they said they should have at least had some say in what style of houses were built there.
“You look at that thing and it’s like a grain elevator. It’s the most appalling thing,” said Neal Markewich, who moved into the area in 1982.
He said they never had an opportunity to say anything about the sale of the land and as a long-term resident, it really upset him.
But Court said that when the land went up for sale, it was advertised on the city website as well as in the Leader-Post — standard practice whenever the city is selling a piece of land.
In 2016, Markewich and two neighbours attended a city council meeting, where they were given an opportunity to voice their concerns about the development.
They tried to convince the city to limit development by leaving the south end of the lot as it was — preserving the trees, shrubs and grass there. But the group was unsuccessful.
Although the city was within its rights to sell the land, and the developer within his to build there, Markewich is disappointed by the decision and the prospect of 13 two-storey houses consuming the view out his front door.
He’s not alone.
“Once all the houses are built, I will lose all view of those trees and the sunrise and our whole neighbourhood will lose the rabbits, the grouse, the Hungarian partridge,” said Carol Schimnosky, who has lived on Campbell Street with her husband for 47 years.
She said bi-levels — or bungalows — would fit in better with the neighbourhood.
Several residents, including Schimnosky, described the twostorey house as an eyesore.
“Some people have certainly called and talked to me and I’m aware that some are disappointed. I get that,” said Mike O’Donnell, city councillor for the area. “I can’t change the development now.”
But he is supportive of the development, because it will bring more families into the area and keep the schools vibrant. He also said the new houses will be beneficial because they will increase the value of the existing houses.
“I intend to build homes that people in the neighbourhood will be proud of being an addition to their community,” said Evans.
He said he does have flexibility when it comes to what is built in the lot moving forward, and will adapt based on what is in demand.
“I have informed a couple of the neighbours that I’m looking at the possibility … of putting some bungalows in amongst the twostoreys,” said Evans.
He hopes that once the development is finished — which he estimates to be within two years — people will have a change of heart. In the meantime he said he will do his best to alleviate the concerns of those in the community.