Council Briefs
Council supports dog daycare changes
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, May 26, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City council moved Tuesday to allow Qimmiq Kennels to keep dogs overnight at one of its properties in Kam Lake.
Kam Lake resident Peter Curran tells council he hopes a plan to allow overnight dog boarding at a property in his neighbourhood doesn't hinder an eventual goal to move dog services to Engle
business district. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
Kennel owner Jo Kelly told councillors on May 15 she'd like to expand services at the main shop at 156 Curry Dr. and move dogs staying overnight to its adjacent facility at 138 Curry Dr.
Council approved a conditionally permitted use for that on Tuesday. But as part of the process, the city discovered flaws in its bylaws and suggested amendments that will still need to be approved by council.
According to a zoning bylaw, the service of keeping dogs overnight is defined as operating a kennel. The problem for Qimmiq's request is kennels are prohibited in the zoning rules for that part of Kam Lake (existing businesses, such as Beck Kennels, were grandfathered in when the bylaw was passed).
As well, the current bylaw doesn't differentiate between a business keeping dogs inside versus outside and sets out that a 'dog daycare' can only keep dogs during the daytime.
Senior administrative officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett said at a May 15 meeting that two neighbours raised concerns about noise and smells and setting a precedent for overnight boarding elsewhere in the city if the changes are approved. But she said staff don't consider the changes as much different than what's operating there already.
"I know that we run a very clean shop and we provide a very good service and I'm very proud of how clean and smell-free our zone is," Kelly said at the meeting.
Peter Curran, a Kam Lake resident, pointed out the city has taken steps to move kennels to the Engle Business District and hopes the changes won't harm that effort.
"Although I do share some of the concerns that I've heard from the proponents neighbours, I determined to be optimistic here," Curran said.
With the conditionally permitted use approved by council, the next step will be to amend the zoning bylaws.
City expands Housing First
The City of Yellowknife has awarded a contract to the YWCA of Yellowknife to run a Housing First program for families.
Housing First emphasizes placing homeless people in a housing unit and then providing support services.
The city last year launched a Housing First program for single people with a goal of getting 20 housed by 2019. That portion of the program is operated by the Yellowknife Women's Society.
Coun. Linda Bussey wasn't able to say Thursday if the city has a pre-determined goal to house a set number of families by a certain date.
Funding for both aspects of Housing First is via the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy.
Mayor Mark Heyck stated in a news release the city looks forward to building on its existing Housing First program by adding families.
YWCA executive director Lyda Fuller stated in a news release the organization is interested in applying Housing First principles to help families stabilize their living situation.
"Providing permanent housing allows the family to focus on meeting their other non-residential needs and goals for a secure future," she stated.
The contract will be signed at a public event at city hall today at 1 p.m.
Council gets into the weeds on litter
Councillors got into the nitty-gritty of litter issues in the city on Tuesday as administration offered up ideas to reduce the scourge.
Those ideas ranged from a program encouraging businesses to wash sidewalks in front of their location, adding more summer students who would help with garbage pickup to purchasing a $120,000 vacuum that would be driven along sidewalks sucking up litter. "Litter is not a problem to be solved so much as it's an issue to be managed," said the city's senior administrative officer Sheila Bassi-Kellett when introducing a report with the recommendations.
An annual spring clean-up effort costs $30,000, according to the report.
Coun. Linda Bussey floated the idea of adding another cleanup period later in the year, saying she notices a difference when walking around the community during spring cleanup.
Coun. Adrian Bell said he generally thinks the city does a good job trying to address litter but said there seems to be a disconnect between the city checking for litter in some locations and keeping it clean.
Areas councillors discussed as problem spots included the city-owned parking lot at the corner of 50 Avenue and 50 Street, Rotary Park and the vicinity of the intersection of 49 Street and 51 Avenue. Bell said he wants a renewed emphasis on keeping the so-called 50/50 lot clean.
Stepped up efforts may not be enough, said Coun. Niels Konge.
"It's people being lazy," Konge said. "Even if we had a garbage can every half-block, we'd still find garbage."
Mayor Mark Heyck passed chairmanship of the meeting to Bell to chime in, agreeing with other councillors that the vacuum idea seemed over the top but the city could tap its downtown revitalization fund to help pay for some of the other ideas raised Tuesday.
Heyck said staff will consider the input of councillors and bring ideas forward to a future council meeting.
