At the last City council meeting of the year, the topic of a new subdivision on the north side of town was brought up.

The proposal had been considered by Land Development Services, with the completed report presented to the assembled council members.

In it, a section of 25 acres in the north part of the city - along Kensington Avenue and roughly across from the Estevan Comprehensive School - would be made for an industrial lot.

The lot would also have a 30-meter road connected to Kensington Avenue running through the lot to connect with the neighbouring quarter-section.

In the report, the Ministry of Highways, SaskTel, SaskPower, and SaskEnergy stated that they would have no concerns with the project and the ECS authorities did not respond. Additionally, a Historical Resource On-Line Tool stated there would be no need for an archaeological excavation.

The City also held a meeting with the RM of Estevan, discussing the proposed subdivision.

While the letter that was then sent to the City did have questions, which were answered by the report, Mayor Roy Ludwig stated that it seemed that the RM was happy with the new subdivision.

Nine requirements were laid out for the City to meet by Land Development Services before the City approved the subdivision, mainly dealing with some of the processes around the new roadway and making sure the work was within provincial guidelines.

Following the report by Manager Richard Neufield, council members asked him some of the questions they had regarding the project.

Councillor Shelly Veroba asked whether the street would be paved, or kept a gravel road.

Neufield said that the end result of the road would likely be figured out once a buyer had been lined up for the lot and once it was known whether they or the City would pay for it.

It was stated that the road would likely initially be made dust-free.

Afterwards, Councillor Anthony Sernick asked if the plan was just focused on the act of making a new industrial site, and that work on the site would not begin immediately.

It was confirmed that the proponent of the subdivision still had "a few hoops to jump", as Mayor Ludwig puts it.

Neufield then stated that the project would need a bit of time, around 45-60 days to get the land titled, though he admitted it may take longer due to the holiday and winter season.

The motion was carried by the council, adopting the recommendations of Land Development Services.