Final vote on YMCA purchase for arena project

Saskatoon city council meets Wednesday for its February regular business meeting, with a final vote set on purchasing more property to support the development of a downtown entertainment district.

Council will also hear a report summing up monitoring efforts around a rendering plant that has seen nearby residents raise a stink about odours, and will consider loosening signage restrictions on cannabis shops

YMCA PURCHASE

Council will have one more chance to question city staff about a proposed purchase of the YMCA building on 22nd St. E.

The proposed $8.5-million deal would add just under an acre of land to the properties already assembled in support of a downtown entertainment district that would feature a replacement for the Sasktel Centre arena and a renovation and expansion of TCU Place.

City planners have previously told council that expanding TCU Place westward is the best available option for the site, making it necessary to buy the YMCA building.

ODOUR

A city report seeks to clear the air about a rendering plant that has been a source of controversy.

The West Coast Reduction facility on Miners Avenue drew complaints in 2022 after a truckload of pig carcasses was dumped in its parking lot.

The incident led to increased scrutiny from both the city and the province. A report to this week's council meeting notes that city inspectors monitored the WCR site and the Hudson Bay Industrial Area through the warmer months of 2023.

That monitoring identified four clusters of complaints that could potentially have come from the rendering plant, but the report notes that city staff believe “a majority” of these were not actually related to the facility.

Provincial officials performed unannounced inspections on “several” occasions in 2023, finding no problems with WCR'S odour mitigation procedures, the report states.

CANNABIS STORES

City staff are recommending that council authorize changes to the city's bylaw governing cannabis stores. The bylaw passed in 2018 includes provisions that are now covered by federal and provincial regulations on cannabis retailers, including a requirement that store signage only feature a business's name in alpha numeric characters, and requirements around window coverings and minimum staffing. These would be replaced by language simply requiring cannabis stores to abide by all federal and provincial rules.

The report authors note they expect cannabis-leaf imagery to become “heavily” featured in the signage and marketing of local retailers should council approve the proposed amendments.