Saskatoon man fighting city over proposed six-story condo in Buena Vista

Source: Google / City of Saskatoon

A Buena Vista resident is trying to get the city to block a condo development on the corner of 8th Street and Broadway Avenue because he says it will create traffic chaos.

The planned six-storey residential building, which includes commercial spaces on the first floor, also contravenes the city’s zoning guidelines and the Broadway-area development plan, says Gary Thorinson, who lives on 7th Street.

The developer, Saska Land Development Holdings Corp., has applied to the city to amend the zoning on the site to allow the project to continue.

On Wednesday evening, city council will consider the change, and Thorinson has requested to appear to speak against it.

The Broadway Business Improvement District (BBID) supports the development.

Executive director DeeAnn Mercier sent a letter of support to the hearing, saying the development will revitalize a property that has been vacant for decades.

“These properties currently sit outside of the BBID but with potential rezoning to B5B, our hope is that the BBID’s geographical boundaries would be extended to include this property,” she wrote. “The BBID would then endeavor to care for, enhance and maintain the urban design in the public realm as well as market and advocate for the businesses within that building.

Even if the developer is successful in having the site re-zoned, Thorinson says the development will cause problems for the neighbourhood.

The only access to the building’s below-ground parking will be through a single-lane alleyway shared with residents of 7th and 8th streets. There’s no way this can accommodate the residents of 90 new suites, he argues.

“This highly restricted site will cause traffic chaos as traffic tries to enter and exit into one-lane streets and alleys,” Thorinson said.

Mercier says shared alleyways are not a new phenomenon in the area.

“Many blocks in Nutana share their alleyways with business parking, multi-unit parking and single-unit dwellings. These alleys are generally still easy to use and access and not used as short-cuts nor do they experience irregular congestion,” she said.

Thorinson believes the city rushed the public consultation stage of the development process and failed to do a single traffic and parking study to see if the proposed design could work.

In a report to council, city administration recommends that council approves the zoning changes.

According to the report, administration said that a traffic impact assessment wasn't needed based on the projected traffic flow patterns.

However, the report said that based on the questions and concerns of some residents, city staff conducted a traffic review.

"The estimated increase in traffic volumes, resulting from the proposed development, align with typical daily volumes for the street classifications and confirmed a full traffic impact assessment is not necessary," the report said.

“Whether I approve of this development or not is irrelevant,” Thorinson said. “What’s important is that this is done by the guidelines and that studies are done to make sure it’s safe.”

Thorinson says he believes the city is putting itself in a risky position by working too closely with the developers. He says the city refused to meet neighbourhood residents without the developer present.

“Clearly, you can’t have massive developments like this without problems. It calls for a little more planning than this.”

In Buena Vista, Thorinson says the residents he’s speaking to feel like the building is a done deal, no matter how they feel about it.

The proposed changes to the land use and zoning for the area will be discussed at the public hearing meeting of city council on April 26 at 6 p.m.