Regina food bank expansion, deal to assist Cowessess First Nation health centre pass city council

Wednesday's Regina city council meeting flew by as a number of items received unanimous support with very little discussion.

Among them, council approved a deal with the Regina Food Bank that will help the organization clear a hurdle in its efforts to create a community food hub in the city's downtown.

Under the deal, the food bank has been granted a decade-longlease for1720 12th Ave.a vacant lotjust offBroad Streetfor $1 per year.

Thecommunity food hub will operate out of a former SLGA store at 1881 Broad St.,beside the empty lot.

The12th Avenue land is behind the former liquor store, which would allow the food bank to run a food hamper drive-thru and build "raised greenscapingto facilitate community renewal."

Thecommunity food hub will functionmore like a grocery store and community centre, rather than a traditional food bank, according to a letter the food bank sent to the city.

The lot on 12th Avenue has sat empty since it was acquired by the City of Regina in 1999 due to the presence of unspecified environmental contamination.

That environmental contamination is why the food bank is required to lease the space rather than purchase it outright.

Part of the lease will require the lot to be paved in order to avoid exposure to the lot's contaminated subsurface soils, a report given to council says.

The food bank is also seeking a tax exemptions for both properties and a one-time payment of $200,000 to fund the initiative, but those requestswill be decided on at a later date.

First Nation to createurban Indigenous health centre

On Wednesday, council also approved an agreement to sell a strip of property to Cowessess First Nation, so it can proceed with plans to build an urban health centre.

The land runs through aback lane between Sixthand Seventhavenues, near Albert Street.

The First Nation already owns the surrounding land, but the City of Regina ownsthe stripthat runs through the middle of the lane.

That will now change, with council approving a deal to sell the lane for $1 to CowessessFirst Nation.

The First Nation is in the final stages of building an urban Indigenous health centre.

It will be open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, but incorporate an Indigenous worldview when providing primary and secondary care.

The city is selling the plot of land below fair market value, but administration says the sale wouldsupportFirst Nation economic development one of the 94 calls to action that came from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission thatthe city has committed to and other potential benefits to the community, according to a report.

Council lowersdeveloper charges

City council also approved a cut to its planned hike ondeveloper fees, asrecommended by city staff.

Staff and industry stakeholders raised concerns about assumptions made regarding city growth in a model that sets developer fees.

Those feeswhich include servicing agreement fees and development levies are used tofund majorinfrastructure required to support growth, a report prepared for council's Wednesday meeting says.

Currently, the fees are set at $297,000 per hectare forresidential and commercial developers, and $99,000 per hectare for industrial developers.

Theproposed hike to would have resultedina scheduledgreenfieldresidential and commercial developer rateof$632,000 per hectare in 2023 and $210,670 per hectare for industrial developers.

Such rates would discourage companies looking to build in Regina's greenfield or new suburban areas according to the city staff report.

As a result, city council voted on Wednesdayto approve a recommendation from city administration that wouldsetgreenfieldresidential and commercial developer rates to $319,000 per hectare, and industrial rates to $106,000 per hectare.

Lowering the developer charges for 2023 is intended to be a stop-gap measure so the city can investigatethe issues with its model.