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The Weyburn Co-op will be able to move forward with an expansion to their existing Suds City Gas Bar, after receiving discretionary use permission by City Council on Monday night.

Don Kraft, general manager for the Weyburn Co-op, attended the city council meeting to address concerns from landowners adjacent to the business.

"The Weyburn Co-op is a community leader in the city of Weyburn and we have demonstrated that in the past years, with the number of services that we have provided," said Kraft. He said that the Co-op works to meet the additional services that are required by a growing city.

The expansion of their Suds City Gas Bar and Car Wash would include an additional six-lane, three-pump gas bar to the already operated four-pump four-lane gas bar. Also, they would upgrade their car wash to a two-bay facility, with the exit facing north, instead of east.

Concerns from adjacent landowners included noise complaints from the car wash, increased traffic to the business, and a lack of residential privacy.

Kraft felt that the new direction for the car wash, with the exit facing north, would reduce the noise concerns. He said that Co-op would also be willing to consider a barrier wall, as recommended by the City of Weyburn Planning and Development Department, that would be capable of attenuating noise and restricting visibility to the residential properties.

The traffic to the car wash was also addressed by Kraft, who said that there would be a lesser wait time for the car wash, as the new facility would have two bays for vehicles. The Co-op is also considering taking the dryers off the rack, mounted to the front of the building, so while one car is drying, a second car could enter the car wash.

One of the recommendations by the Planning and Development Department were for the car wash to have hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Kraft said that with the increased business from the oil patch, that one of the busiest times for the location is right at 6 a.m.

Coun. Dick Michel moved that the discretionary use for the Weyburn Co-op be approved, with the amendment that the hours of operation for the car wash from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

This motion was approved unanimously. Kraft said the goal was to have the new car wash operational by June 1, and for the expanded gas bar by the middle of June, and for the whole project to be complete by Aug. 1.

City council adopted "The Planning and Development Act" bylaw, which is a formal agreement between the City of Weyburn the RM of Weyburn.

"We have been working in an Ad Hoc planning district for about two years," said Martino Verheaghe, director of planning and development for the City of Weyburn. "This provides for a formal agreement to be adopted by the Minister of Government Relations."

Once that agreement is adopted, the City of Weyburn and the RM will develop a district plan, which provides joint planning between both councils.

"That district plan will have an impact on how development proceeds in the city, in the RM, and provides a platform on dealing with joint servicing and growing the region," said Verheaghe.

Rezoning and zoning bylaws were addressed by city council, including a highway commercial request by Minards, and residential mobile home zone by the Weyburn Trailer Park and Clark Park.

Minard's Leisure World had applied for rezoning of property on Â鶹´«Ã½AV Hill from residential semi-detached to highway commercial on Â鶹´«Ã½AV Hill. This application was defeated by city council, after a tied vote of 2-2. Coun. Michel excused himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest.

Neither Coun. Stephanson nor Mayor Debra Button were in attendance.

"Council decided that the 150 unit amount, seasonably varied, was too high, so I will have to go back to the applicant," explained Verheaghe. The recommendation from the Planning and Development Department was 42 units, or for another number to meet Minard's needs.

Rezoning was approved for land near the Weyburn Trailer Court and Clark Park to allow for residential mobile homes. "Within the region of Clark Park, it is one of the only regions of the city where the city plan allows for mobile home development," said Verheaghe. "The city is supportive of residential lots, which might have mobile homes on it, which is one of the bylaws that was reviewed by city council."

Verheaghe added that currently the city doesn't have any interest in creating any more mobile home parks. Also during the Monday meeting, the first reading of manufactured home bare land condominium development, located south of First Avenue SW and west of Moore Street was passed.

A public hearing will be held Monday, Feb. 11.