Daily Herald Contributor
Prince Albert city council approved a motion to amend the city’s zoning bylaw on Tuesday to allow for a six story hotel to be built in The Yard Entertainment District.
Council approved Bylaw No. 31 of 2024, which amended Bylaw No. 1 of 2019, during a special meeting on Tuesday. Mayor Greg Dionne said the change was necessary.
We’re getting another hotel in the yard district and this hotel will be six storeys,” Dionne said afterwards. “The old bylaw did not allow anything higher than a four story building, so it’s now updated. Anyone in a C4 can build six storeys, and it’s really exciting for us because, again, it’s another tax base for us.”
The bylaw affects buildings built in C4 Highway Commercial Zoning Districts. The purpose of the C4 is to provide a diverse mixture of large scale, commercial uses.
Dionne said the hotel is going to be around 100 rooms.
“The intention is to provide adequate space for large scale commercial developments, as well as easy access to the city’s many arterial and highway corridors,” Dionne said.
“This is a bylaw that hasn’t been updated for years, but has just been updated now through council approval,” he added.
According to a report submitted to council, the builder needed an extra 18 meters of space to accommodate the structure. Administration recommended that council approve the change.
“The overall physical impact of a building that is four storeys (currently allowed) or six storeys (proposed) is relatively the same at these heights,” reads the report. “That said, maintaining a reasonable limit on the building height ensures that any potential hotel development abutting an existing residential neghbourhood remains at a reasonable density, limiting any potential impact on residents.”
The C4 Highway Commercial Zoning District can be found in two locations along 2nd Avenue West from 26th Street West to the southern City Limits and from the southern end of The Yard District along the east side of Highway No. 3 to Southwood Drive.
This is the final council meeting before the November municipal election.
