Editorial Yorkton Council found itself with a bit of a hot potato at its regular meeting Feb. 22. And that hot potato is Uncle Weiner s Wholesale/Mega Savers Outlet which wants to locate in the Rural Municipality of Wallace in the building formerly in use as Castle Building Centre. article continues below On the surface this is one of those give it the stamp of approval and applaud items for a Council, since every community covets new business because those businesses pay property taxes and they employ people who in turn pay taxes. In fact, Mayor Mitch Hippsley made that rather clear from the get go in his remarks on the issue stating we as the City of Yorkton are very pro business.
The property in question is adjacent to the City’s easterly corporate boundary and also adjacent to City-owned lands that lie within the RM of Wallace, explained Michael Eger – Director of Planning, Building & Development with the City. The subject lands are designated for Commercial land use in the District Plan, and zoned High Profile Commercial/Light Industrial (HPC) in the RM’s Zoning Bylaw. In order to accommodate the application, the RM is considering a text amendment to their zoning bylaw which would make a Salvage Yard/Machine wrecker a Discretionary Use in that zone. Under Planning and Development Act, 2007, the RM was required to issue public notice to adjacent landowners. The City received formal notice of the application and the RM’s intent to consider at a Public Hearing, to be held on Feb. 12, noted Eger.