Saskatoon council votes against accelerating Solair development

A development company has hit a snag in its plan to build an environmentally-friendly group of housesin aSaskatoon neighbourhood.

Saskatoon City Council voted against accelerating Arbutus Properties' Solair subdivision on Monday.

The company wants to build a subdivision of 3,200 solar powered homes built from energy-efficient material in the city's southeast corner.

The company wanted to 'jump the queue' and be developed at a faster rate than other developments in the city, due to its environmentally-friendly nature and be added to the Holmwood Suburban Development Area.

However, administration disagreed with the proposal, and were concerned it didn't fit in with the city's long-term development plan. Much of the development would fall outside current city limits, and would be separated by a rail line.

"We have an obligation to ensure Saskatoon develops in a fair and predictable manner for all developers," said Angela Gardiner, General Manager of Transportation and Construction for the City of Saskatoon.

"We also need to make sure the multi-million-dollar underground services water, sewer, storm water, power, and communications work properly and are constructed in a cost-effective way."

Single-family homes would account for roughly 40 per cent of the Solair neighbourhood. The rest of the homes would be mixed-use or multi-family dwellings.

City administration said certain elements of the development had merit, but asked that Arbutus consider building a similar development on land it already owns in the Rosewood neighbourhood.

Officials said there are already many other developments in the works in the city that should be developed first.

"Adding another development will not attract additional housing demand in the city," said Gardiner. "It will simply take away demand from areas where City Council has already made significant investments."

Council asked administration to look into any ways to expand oversight or regulation around environmental features of any new neighbouring development.