City council chambers will likely be a packed house in Regina on Monday, as council members get set to hear public feedback on proposed zoning bylaw changes.
Public feedback sessions were scheduled to start at 4 p.m. as part of a special City Council meeting. More than 150 delegates signed up to give their input on proposed changes to which areas in the city recreational facilities are allowed to operate.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
If approved, the change would stop any new recreational facilities, like dance studios and sports clubs, from operating in industrial zones, and allow them to operate only in mixed-use zones and residential zones.
It would apply only to new facilities; current ones wouldn’t be affected by the change.
Carley Weisbeck, co-owner of Boss Athletics, said she’s frustrated by the proposed changes.
Speaking with 980 CJME earlier this month, Weisbeck said she was planning to expand her business, but she’s now worried that won’t be possible in the future because of the change.
“Even as we are right now, we’re bursting at the seams in our current facility. Expansion was something that we absolutely wanted to do and (the proposed zoning bylaw changes) would limit that for us,” she said.
Weisbeck said moving to a residential zone would increase the studio’s monthly rent bills.
Part of the proposed zoning bylaw changes would also affect how businesses use portable signs to advertise.
Advocates for the portable sign industry say the proposed changes would decrease how many signs a business could use for its ads.
There are five delegates signed up to speak on the proposed changes to the sign bylaw.
— With files from 980 CJME’s Jessie Anton