A property on Caribou Street West that was initially zoned as commercial before being rezoned as residential is now being rezoned back to commercial.
During the Nov. 23 regular council meeting, city council voted unanimously to approve an application to rezone 319 Caribou Street West to C1 neighbourhood commercial district from R2 medium density residential district. City administration will now prepare a zoning amendment bylaw and issue a public notice about this change to the property. The bylaw will then come back to council for approval.
Coun. Heather Eby recused herself from the vote since she co-owns the property with her husband, Gerald.
While the Ebys wanted the property rezoned to C1B mixed-used neighbourhood commercial district, city administration recommended that the property be rezoned to C1 neighbourhood commercial district instead due to the land uses listed and permitted in each district.
The Ebys submitted a letter to the City of Moose Jaw on Nov. 2 asking that this property be rezoned.
They explained that they have owned the property since 2017 and bought it as an apartment building. The building was home to Brothers’ Confectionary on the main floor and was zoned commercial until 2014 when it was then renovated and turned into an apartment building. The upstairs was always an apartment.
The Ebys want the property zoned back to commercial since they want to turn the ground floor into a location for a hair salon and massage therapy centre for their daughters, their letter said. They pointed out that while the 300 block Caribou Street West is zoned R1, commercial properties are also on the 200 and 400 blocks of that same street.
For example, on the same side of the street as the building, there are six garages and a parking lot for the First Free Methodist Church. There is a property lot nearby with a small shop, while there is only one house on the street.
“This is not a typical residential neighbourhood block. And as noted, it was a commercial property for approximately 30 years up until six years ago,” the letter said.
Few renovations would be required to convert the space into a salon, although some adaptations would need to be made to satisfy the National Building Code, the Ebys added. There is also plenty of parking nearby, both on-street and a driveway adjacent to the building.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 7.
