The City of Saskatoon is engaging with various stakeholders and community partners on the proposed Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment to understand interests related to the project.

A second phase of engagement with residents, stakeholders, and community partners will occur later in 2022 to receive feedback on the draft final design of the Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment.

A summary of each phase of engagement will also be presented to City Council for their consideration.

What are Sector Plans?

Saskatoon is divided into Sectors. Each Sector is made up of neighbourhoods, creating areas that accommodate approximately 70,000 people.

In order to manage growth efficiently, a Sector Plan study is completed to create the overlying vision for each Sector.

Sector Plans provide a broad framework for future urban development and include the location and size of future neighbourhoods, employment areas, parks, and significant natural areas. City services are planned, new neighbourhood concept plans are developed, land use designations and rezoning applications are evaluated, and amendments to the City boundary are based on the framework provided by Sector Plans.

Sector Plans have three main purposes:

• To enhance the City of Saskatoon's vision in the Official Community Plan to develop a Sector.
• To establish a layout for the preparation of future Concept Plans to ensure growth is balanced, compact, and connected to established areas.
• To identify key land uses and servicing that will need to be addressed in detail during the Concept Plan process.

Sector Plans are preliminary planning studies and are future oriented. No specific timeframe for development is applied to Sector Plans.

Why is the Blairmore Sector Plan being amended?

The Blairmore Sector Plan was first approved in 2011. The amendment being considered is meant to:

• Address changes that have occurred in the area.
• To better accommodate future development in the southern portion of Phase III of the current Blairmore Sector Plan (now identified as Phase II in the amendment).
• To remove the northern area of the approved Blairmore Sector Plan from this Sector (see map below). Since the Blairmore Sector Plan's approval, the Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G) District Official Community Plan (District OCP) was created. The District OCP will guide development adjacent to Saskatoon. Amending the Blairmore Sector Plan to remove this area provides the opportunity to align the Sector Plan boundary with the current city boundary and the P4G District OCP.
• The Southwest Sector has been considered for development but is not currently included in a Sector Plan. Adding this area to the Blairmore Sector Plan (see map below) will help ensure it is integrated with adjacent neighbourhoods and development areas, including alignment with the Montgomery Place Local Area Plan.

 

Considerations with the Southwest Sector

Considerations related to the Southwest Sector area include:

• There are two afforestation areas within the proposed boundary that do not have legal designations or formal plans for their current and future use. Including them in the Blairmore Sector can help us address concerns raised by community members regarding these areas and may contribute to achieving some of the recommendations of the City of Saskatoon's Green Infrastructure Strategy.
• The West Swale forms the boundary of some of the development areas in the approved Blairmore Sector Plan. The swale needs further study to define the boundary of both the swale and the adjacent development areas.

Part of the sector planning process includes a natural area screening study to better understand the natural, cultural, and historical assets that are present in the sector area. The study for the Blairmore Sector Plan Amendment area was conducted in the spring of 2022 by EDI Environmental Dynamics Inc. 

For more detailed information, you can read EDI's full report.

Key Findings and EDI's Recommendations

The key findings of the natural area screening study were:

• Soils - 14 areas of potential environmental concern were identified with 2 possible contaminants.
• Habitat - the area is mainly made up of cultivated land (51%), disturbed/developed land (30%), wetlands (10%), and woodland (8%).
• Vegetation - 105 vegetation species were identified. Two species of management concern were observed in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (red elderberry and small yellow lady's slipper). Weeds and invasive species such as European buckthorn are a concern.
• Wildlife - 91 birds, 52 invertebrates, and 8 mammal species were documented. One active red-tailed hawk nest was observed in George Genereux Urban Regional Park and two species of management concern (horned grebe and common nighthawk) were observed in the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. Interestingly, one black bear was observed.
• Heritage/Cultural - no known archaeological sites are located within the study area. Several quarter sections have the potential for archaeological sites.

EDI's recommendations include:

• Focus conservation and enhancement planning on the two afforestation areas, the West Swale and associated wetland complexes.
• Minimize wetland habitat degradation and loss by minimizing construction of stormwater structures within the West Swale and other wetland complexes.
• Conserve and enhance the ecological function of existing forest communities in the afforestation areas through control of weeds and invasives.
• Create a buffer around the wetland within the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area to prevent further degradation of the land along the riverbank (riparian area) and wetland margins.
• Enhance the recreational potential of the afforestation areas, including the prohibition of motorized vehicles (including dirt bikes) and restricting vehicle access, improved park space and infrastructure, and engagement with stakeholders and community partners during planning and implementation of enhancements.