Some amendments have been made to the new North Battleford zoning bylaw and Official Community Plan, it seems they haven't gone far enough for the liking of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
At Tuesday night's monthly directors meeting - their final one until September - Chamber executive director Linda Machniak noted that second reading for the OCP and zoning bylaw was due to come back again at next Monday's council meeting.
Included will be amendments in the wake of what was a contentious public hearing on the topic at the April 28 council meeting, when the Chamber and a number of other local businesses voiced concern over the bylaw.
But Chamber officials are expressing dissatisfaction with what they have been hearing so far, saying the changes do not go far enough.
When speaking at council at the public hearing in April, Chamber president Ryan Moe said Chamber members were concerned that "the real or perceived restrictions in the zoning bylaw, downtown, and in several commercial sub codes, will impact the growth and development not only in the core but elsewhere in the city."
A main concern for the Chamber all along has been the bylaw's "sole focus" on the downtown core and the provisions for C1 Downtown Commercial that would restrict banks and theatres to that district alone, among others.
The indication Tuesday was that those provisions were going to hold up for the most part. The most important change coming, however, is that the city has "made some movement on the office space requirement for the downtown core," said Machniak.
This is the only major change confirmed to the Chamber, it was indicated. "It sounds like they're going to stick to their guns with regards to the downtown," said Moe.
Moe indicated the Chamber has not changed their position on the OCP and Zoning Bylaw. He said they wholly support the growth of downtown but not the way the bylaw is written at this point.
The Chamber has been in contact with the city's rep on their board, councillor Ryan Bater, on the issue, with Machniak indicating she had told Bater "there had not been a significant amount of movement."
"We've let that message be known to the city manager, the mayor, and councillor Bater specifically," Moe added.
