A proposed zoning bylaw has local gym owners upset and worried.
The City of Regina is proposing a new bylaw that would no longer have recreational facilities in industrial and light industrial areas, with those already there being grandfathered in but new builds and expansions would not be permitted.
Gym owners have handed the city over 100 written submissions from facility owners, staff and clients opposing the zoning idea.
CrossFit Regina Head Coach Brandon Blair said rent is less expensive in the industrial area which keeps costs down for clients, so this change could hurt them financially.
“Looking at moving into commercial spaces or into that residential area just within that price per square footage and also the different limitations put on the facilities whether it be that noise or just activities you can do within those spaces, and also the size that we need to maintain the different things where we have class sizes.”
Blair said rent is significantly different in commercial areas compared to industrial parks and this change would greatly affect about 50 locally homegrown businesses.
“Those entrepreneurs within our city that are trying to keep that economy growing and building and keeping that money in house or in the city to grow and further our community would ultimately be lost,” Blair said. “By moving into these other spaces, it definitely limits a lot of us in terms of that ability to continue to serve the community that we love so much.”
Co-owner and coach at CrossFit Iron Society Leya Moore said there is a huge cost difference in rent for the two areas and this change would hurt many local businesses, especially newer startups like hers.
“In you average lease per square foot is $11.04 in your industrial areas and it is somewhere between $30-$42 per square foot in new retail and then somewhere between, I think it’s $12-$24 per square foot in existing retail locations.”
She adds that this change is also counter to the city’s recreational plan.
