Niverville’s town council held their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, December 21 at the Community Resource and Recreation Centre.
Typically, these meetings can also be attended virtually. However, due to the retirement of the town’s IT professional, the next two meetings will be only be held in-person.
A public hearing was to be held this week for an amendment to zoning bylaw 835-21, but due to technical issues it has been postponed until council’s meeting on January 18. Anyone who wishes to address this potential zoning amendment is welcome to attend the meeting on that date.
Residential Rezoning
Cornell Friesen, one of the developers of Fifth Avenue Estates West, has requested zoning changes for the land surrounding the Niverville High School and the Community Resource and Recreation Centre.
The land in question is immediately to the west of Highway 311 and Mulberry Avenue and is currently zoned commercial. Friesen has requested that the north half of this parcel of land be rezoned to medium-density residential in order to accommodate the construction of six six-plexes.
The new street to the west of Mulberry will be called Weiland Street. There are 26 lots on the east side of that street and the northern section will be home to an eight-plex. Thus, the land in this part of the development has been rezoned from medium-density to high-density residential.
North of the curling rink, along the railway tracks, there are currently 57 lots medium-density residential lots. These have been rezoned to low-density as they will hold single- family homes and duplex-style homes.
Park Upgrades
Opa’s Park, which was originally funded by the Fast family when it was built in the early 1990s, will soon receive an upgrade.
When matriarch Emily Fast recently passed away, the family requested donations to the park improvement fund in lieu of flowers. A generous total of $11,900 was donated and the town has approved the issuing of tax receipts to those who contributed to the fund.
Animal Control
Niverville’s animal control officer recently retired, and the town has since hired a new animal control service.
The new company has requested that their name not be made public at this time. The town office has asked that any concerns regarding animals be addressed directly to them.
Odds and Ends
Another item on this week’s agenda was a request for a variance at 425 Wittick Street. The variance would allow for a reduced east side yard setback from 20 feet to no less than 10 feet, in order to accommodate a building addition, as well as a reduced rear yard setback from 25 feet to no less than seven feet to accommodate the location of a large steel container. Council approved this variance unanimously.
Council then approved a chance in compensation for the town’s fire chief and two deputy fire chiefs. The Chief will receive $1,250 per month and the deputy chiefs $850 per month each.
Next, a decision was made to end overnight street parking in the Niverville Business Park. Parking in this part of town will no longer be allowed between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Council also unanimously passed the town’s 2022 Emergency Plan.
Development fees have been set for the next two years. Council approved a fee of $8,000 for single-family homes and a fee of $5,750 for a multi-family home.
After a due tendering process, a contract was awarded to handle the flowers that decorate Main Street every summer. The contract went to Giz’s Garden Centre for their bid of $8,015.
Finally, a third reading was given to a potential increase in pay for both council members and town employees. Both changes were approved unanimously.
