‘Moves us forward’: Council plans to tackle vacant houses, buildings around Regina

Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski on dealing with neglected properties in the city's core, property tax rates, moving away from flag proclamations and Frost Festival

Regina city councillors approved a motion Wednesday that asks administration to create a framework that would penalize owners of vacant and underutilized properties. Something the previous council had been looking to do.

The motion, penned by former Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens was first put forward to council in June 2024 but was never debated prior to November’s civic election.

“The point of all [this] is to improve the community and to tackle pressing challenges in our inner-city neighborhoods and the downtown especially,” Stevens said, while appearing as a delegate for Wednesday’s city council meeting.

In the spring of 2022, local bylaw enforcement estimated there were more than 100 boarded up houses in Regina.

According to officials, 29 were knocked down in 2023.

Stevens’ motion aimed to penalize property owners and better utilize vacant space.

“The first part of this resolution tackles surface parking lots in a confined area,” he explained. “Not only is there no incentive to develop, but there’s also a financial incentive to actually do nothing.”

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The motion tasks city administration to create a property subclass for standalone surface parking lots, with a focus on Warehouse, Downtown, and Centre Square.

It also recommends city-owned parking lots be considered for transition into residential and commercial use.

The creation of a property subclasses for nuisance and abandoned properties and buildings, would establish bylaws, enforcement processes and fines for repeat nuisance property offences.

Stevens cited similar policies which have seen success in cities like Edmonton, Alta.

“The more you let a community rot, stay vacant, etcetera. It just costs everybody,” Stevens said. “Everybody benefits when the downtown feels safe and when you build the residential spaces for people to live in.”

“The bones of [the motion] are still valid,” Mayor Chad Bachynski told reporters following Wednesday’s meeting. “It’s the idea of trying to move us forward and using examples from other municipalities so [we] don’t reinvent the wheel.”

Current councillors passed the motion with overwhelming favour.

Only Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo voted against individual aspects of the wording, specifically the creation of a various tax subclasses.

“What’s the definition?” he asked administration. “We’ve heard about everything from boarded up to ‘crack house’ all the way to, cars on the front lawn.”

“[The city] does have processes in place to take care of [this]. They’re called bylaws,” Bezo added. “They’re just not enforced.”

“[Fines] are voluntary payment,” said city director of community standards Faisal Kalim. “[The city] is required to actually prosecute them to collect those fines. Which is very resource intensive.”

Bezo did vote in favour of transitioning some city space to residential as well as the fines for repeat offenders.

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City manager Niki Anderson believes the plan could help revitalize downtown.

“Part of this is meant to change the behavior where there’s actually reasons to want to develop [this] land,” she said. “And if you look at what it costs when those properties come for sale, they’re very reasonably priced. It is often economically beneficial to demolish and rebuild in those spaces.”

“This is a step in the right direction,” said Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons. “I see this as an increase in the value to our city.”

“The make up of our city and residents is different than it was 50, 100 years ago,” Bachynski said. “[This] is taking a very data driven approach, listening to the residents about what they’re looking for in transit, how they want to get around and how the city builds itself out.”

The exact details of the expanded enforcement are yet to be determined.

Administration is expected to bring a draft of amended bylaws and guidelines back to council at the end of 2025.