Proposed solar Saskatoon neighbourhood designed 'in a vacuum,' planners say

Jeff Drexelfumed Mondayas he listened for nearly 30 minutes to a "laundry list" of reasons why existing blueprints for his company's Solair subdivision donot fit Saskatoon's expansion plan.

He said it's "disappointing" his company, Arbutus Properties,and city staff have met five times since Augustand have yet to address what planners characterized as "technical"issues with Solair.

"We don't think society is changing fast enough," Drexel said. "We need to make changes today."

Arbutus wants to build a subdivision of 3,200 solar-powered homes built from energy-efficient material, complete with rain gardens catching storm water.

He said doing the same thing on a smaller scale in existing developments would cost far home buyers far more.

Single-family homes in Solair starting at $350,000 would account for roughly 40 per cent of the neighbourhood. The rest of the homes would be mixed-use or multi-family dwellings.

The eco-development would straddlethe southeast corner of Saskatoon's city limits, with dense urban residential streets sitting east of the Canadian Pacific railroadon what's currently farmland owned by Stefan and Roma Franko.

"This takes a significant step in the right direction, in fact a giant leap really," said Drexel. "That's why we think this should jump the queue and should be put ahead of everyone else."

Saskatoon's city planners and city manager disagree.

"It's disconnected physically by a rail line and shows no context for the immediate areas adjacent to it," said Lesley Anderson, Saskatoon's director of planning and development. "It has been designed in a vacuum and has disregarded a number of policies and legislation."

She said the plan for six new neighbourhoods including Brighton on Saskatoon's east side already accommodates a city of up to 500,000 people, with no need to further expand city limits.

"We need to figure out a way to make paradigm shifts when it comes to green development," said Saskatoon's mayor, Charlie Clark.

He said he'd rather see innovative neighbourhoods built on land the city already owns.

Following two hours of discussion, Saskatoon's planning and development committee voted to ask all of council to approve adding Solair to the HolmwoodSuburban Development Area.

The plan will also go before the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G), to ensure all partners have a coordinated approach to land use and development.

City staff also have until the end of summer to report back on the financial implications of pursuing the development.