REGINA — The City of Regina is looking ahead to population growth and job creation as part of its Official Growth Plan (OCP), as Regina’s executive committee discuss the motion on Wednesday.
Established in 2013, the OCP includes a growth management strategy, enabling the city to set goals, objectives and policies for managing land uses, new development, municipal utilities and services.
When it was initially developed, the OCP was designed to accommodate a population of 300,000, but the city administration has since proposed a policy amendment to plan for growth up to 370,000 by 2051 based on a survey done in 2024.
This includes adding 68,200 jobs and 56,900 new housing units.
Currently, the city has outlined current/new neighbourhoods expected to take on an additional population of 300,000, including: Westerra (7,500), City Centre (10,000), Coopertown/Rosetown (21,000), Remaining SE Lands (8,500), and Skywood (7,500).
Phasing in
The updated OCP introduces phased and tiered planning for new neighbourhood developments, ranging from short-term to long-term growth.
Beforehand, the city approved developments when 75 per cent of the preceding phase had been developed.
For the new policy, tiers are based on wastewater capacity available, which helps fast-track developments.
Short-term tier 1 includes Westerra, Hawkstone and Somerset. Tier 2 incorporates Rosetown, Westbrook and Coopertown (south of Rosetown), while Tier 3 has the area north of Maple Ridge, Coopertown (north of Rosetown) and Skywood.
Notable neighbourhoods in mid-term include Foxtail and Riverside, while long-term include Harbour Landing West.
Deborah Bryden, deputy city manager of city planning & community development, said “the new approach removes long-standing barriers for advancing new neighbourhoods and offers greater clarity for development sequencing.”
She also noted a better timeline allows schools to better understand when new educational institutions can go online.
Blair Forster, president of Forster Harvard Developments, said this timeline has given an understanding of the wastewater capacity that exists.
“We know where these systems are currently deficient and what infrastructure and at what cost is required to solve this deficiency.”
Diana Hawryluk of Dream Developments said the phasing tiers provide a good starting point for capacity in the city, but noted more planning is needed around transit and wastewater.
Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski called the new policy much more data-driven.
“It accounts for greenfield development, it accounts for intensification, and it accounts for addressing some service level issues that we see in the city, like basement flooding.”
Solution vs risk
Several developers believed their neighbourhoods should be higher on the OCP phase in the plan, including Skywood.
Evan Hunchak of Bright Communities requested council move Skywood from tier 3 to tier 1 and utilize the Rochdale with natural drainage and the Northwest Regional Wastewater Lift Station (NRWLS) when completed in 2028.
Without fast-tracking Skywood, Hunchak said the development could face a big financial loss if it is not online until 2050.
“This would reduce Skywood to approximately 90 per cent of its value.”
In real dollars, Hunchak said Skywood would go from $31 million (old phase 1 model) to $3 million (tier 3 classification).
Bryden explained the city cannot incorporate Skywood into the current wastewater system, which puts more pressure on the city’s capacity.
Kurtis Doney, city manager of city operations, explained that major rainstorm events with a system already at capacity can cause more sewer backups in homes and the discharge of wastewater into creeks.
Doney also noted the city is expecting larger-scale rain events in the future.
Developments like Skywood or the area north of Maple Ridge could fast-track sooner, depending on whether the city receives funding from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund for the NRWLS and the trunkline to the Rosewood Neighbourhood, said Bryden.
Regina’s executive committee voted 9-1 in favour with Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo opposed to the motion. Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Turnbull was away from the meeting.
Final decision on passing the revised OCP will occur on Feb 25.
