Five things to know heading into Wednesday’s city council meeting

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A new school is on the agenda, and so are off-leash parks, and short-term rental homes.

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Saskatoon’s city council meets Wednesday, with a broad range of topics on the agenda. Here’s a summary of some of the top issues up for discussion.

DEED property maintenance

Money is going into repairing and maintaining properties that were purchased to support the Downtown Event and Entertainment District (DEED).

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A report to council said five properties purchased by the city between 2013 and 2024 could support the DEED project, and one property needs repairs that cost roughly $205,000.

Listed repairs for the property at 39-23rd Street includes roof work and the air conditioner.

City administration is asking for $225,000 from the Property Realized Reserve, with the money being recovered when the properties are sold or transferred into the DEED project.

Final project-timing approval for the DEED is ongoing.

Land purchased for new Holmwood school/leisure centre

The city is purchasing land for the joint high schools and East Side Leisure Centre in the Holmwood neighbourhood along McOrmond Drive.

Administration said the project is being placed on 13 acres of a 36-acre plot. A total of $10,842,000 is required to purchase the land from the developer, Dream Asset Management Corporation.

Money for this project will come from the high-school land levy, the Government of Saskatchewan and the parks and recreation levy.

Animal control bylaw amendments

Changes are coming to the animal control bylaw in Saskatoon, with a report listing a couple of proposed amendments.

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Animals other than dogs will not be allowed to enter off-leash areas in the city.

An example given by the city is that they’ve had instances of horses being ridden within the Chief Whitecap off-leash area, and that could cause safety issues between animals and owners.

Fines are listed as $100 for the first offence, $200 for the second and $300 for following offences.

City administration is also looking to prohibit false information on dog and cat licenses, saying this includes spayed and neutered status.

Fines for false information being included in license applications includes $250 for the first offence, $300 for the second and $350 for following offences.

Enforcement coming for unregulated short-term rental homes

The City of Saskatoon received funding from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada to crack down on unlicensed Airbnb and Vrbo homes.

Canada’s short-term rental enforcement fund was created to limit short-term rental homes in cities, with the federal government website saying these homes were taking long-term housing off the market.

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A report to the city said there were about 230 licensed homes in Saskatoon, but there were around 700 listings on Airbnb and 150 listings on Vrbo.

Property owners not in compliance and without property licensing would receive a deadline from the city to either stop operations or obtain a license. If non-compliance continues, property owners could be fined up to $25,000 a day.

Saskatoon declares itself a 2SLGBTQQIA+ safe city

“As the City of Saskatoon is a place where all people deserve to live with dignity, safety and respect, no matter their gender identity or expression, that Saskatoon be declared a safe city for the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.”

That is the recommendation in a report to council Wednesday, brought forward by Coun. Jasmin Parker.

The city’s governance and priorities committee discussed the possibility of declaring Saskatoon a sanctuary city earlier in March, with a report from city administration noting that there wasn’t much information on what a declaration would mean, and that there hasn’t been a Canadian city that has declared itself a sanctuary city for the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

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After some discussion amongst councillors, committee settled on a motion to declare Saskatoon a safe city, addressing that this declaration may only be symbolic in nature.

“I would like to recognize that symbols matter. We are surrounded by symbols,” Parker said.

“If all we can do is symbolically say you are safe in this space, that can be a life-changing statement to make.”

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