By TERRY PUGH
An application by a Saskatoon-based residential construction company to rezone a parcel of land in the RM of Vanscoy along Highway 14 a short distance west of the city has sparked concern among area residents.
The application by Cambridge Homes Ltd. to rezone 38 acres (SE 35-36-07-W3) on the north side of Highway 14 from AR-Agricultural Residential District to C-Commerical District is slated to come before the RM of Vanscoy council meeting on Thursday, May 21 for a public hearing. A bylaw for first reading to approve the application was passed at the April 16, 2026 council meeting. A public hearing must be held prior to second and third readings of the rezoning bylaw.
This marks the second time an application to rezone the land from Ag Residential to Commercial has come before the RM of Vanscoy council. An earlier application by Cambridge Homes was denied by council at a meeting on December 18, 2025.
During a public hearing at the council meeting in December, a large delegation of residents who own acreages and farms in the area expressed their opposition to the proposed rezoning. They cited a list of concerns related to traffic safety on the busy stretch of highway, including limited visibility, restricted lanes and a high volume of traffic. The land in question is near the Saskatoon Livestock Sales (SLS) facility, where the two-lane highway begins an ‘S’ curve.
Residents also raised questions about the growing number of commercial businesses along the highway in that area, each with their own access point; the increased risk of wildfires in an area with very little access to water for firefighting; the likelihood of a rise in theft, vandalism and trespassing; and the potential for a drop in land values.
Cambridge Homes Ltd. is a residential construction company that has built many homes in Saskatoon. In its original rezoning proposal, the company outlined plans for a major development that included a community centre, brewery, temple, warehouse and office complex.
In this latest rezoning proposal, slated to go before council on May 21, the company has scaled back the project to include only a warehouse and office building.
But area residents are still wary that rezoning the land to commercial purposes could open the door for additional business-related activities in the future.
‘NOT A GREAT FIT’
Louis Gariepy and his wife Tammy are long-time owners of an acreage very close to the parcel of land named in the rezoning application. They strongly oppose any change in zoning because they feel it would negatively impact area residents’ quality of life.
“This is a great community,” said Gariepy in an interview May 5. “We’ve been here 25 years and we take pride in our home. There are 14 well-established acreages in the immediate area and they’re all well-kept. We have a low incidence of crime because we have an active neighbourhood watch. We appreciate the police and what they do, but the reality is this is a safe place because we are all involved in keeping it that way.”
While the SLS livestock facility is nearby, Gariepy said that residents have no issues with that long-established agriculture-related business.
“It’s been here a long time and people who move here know what to expect,” said Gariepy. “This is an agricultural area.”
Gariepy said he objects to increasing encroachment of commercial enterprises that threatens an otherwise quiet country residential atmosphere. He noted that he and others opposed the establishment of a cement plant in the area that was granted approval as a home-based business in 2015, and views the latest rezoning application as another foot in the door for businesses looking to locate outside of, but conveniently close to, Saskatoon.
“To have a complete stranger come in who hasn’t even scratched the surface of the land and want to go commercial, with all that it allows; how does that fit in an established residential area?” he said. “It’s like, if you’re living in a nice neighbourhood in Saskatoon, and a developer buys three lots near you and puts a house on one and a KFC restaurant or an auto body shop on the other two, would you allow that in a residential neighbourhood? Of course not, so why would it be okay out here in the country?”
Gariepy said he and his neighbours are pressing the RM councillors to deny the rezoning application. A petition opposing the application is also currently being circulated and will be presented at the public hearing on May 21.
SCALED BACK PROJECT
Cambridge Homes Ltd. owner Arifur Rahman said in an interview May 5 that he purchased the 38-acre property in the summer of 2025 with the intention of submitting a rezoning application.
“The land was originally acquired with a broader vision that included a community centre and additional amenities,” said Rahman. “That concept required rezoning, which was not approved following the public hearing in December, 2025.
“In light of that, we have submitted a new rezoning application focused solely on a more limited and practical development consisting of the warehouse and office. Should this application not be approved after the upcoming public hearing and council decision on May 21, we will proceed with an alternative plan that complies with the current zoning regulations, which would include constructing a residence along with permitted accessory buildings.”
Rahman said the proposed 5,000 to 6,000 square foot warehouse and office facility would be used for the storage of construction materials such as doors, windows and related supplies that support the company’s residential building operations.
HIGHWAY CORRIDOR
RM of Vanscoy Reeve Leonard Junop said when an application for rezoning that meets certain criteria is received, the RM council is obligated to deal with it accordingly.
“As a council, we have to deal with the facts that are put before us,” said Junop in an interview May 5. “This proposal is for rezoning only. It’s not dealing with the commercial intention behind that rezoning. That is for the future. If it is rezoned, then we’ll have to see what comes forward, and any proposal would still have to be approved by council at that point. If it fits, we will have to look at it. We have to follow the process and do what is best for the municipality.”
Junop noted that the RM of Vanscoy Official Community Plan (OCP), adopted by council in 2018, contains a land use map which specifies areas where appropriate commercial development would be encouraged. There are three ‘Highway Corridor Policy Areas’ in the RM that include land on both sides of Highway 14, Highway 7 and Highway 766 (Delisle to Pike Lake). The land in question along Highway 14 falls within one of those corridors.
The RM of Vanscoy OCP notes “the intent of the Highway Corridor Policy Area is to accommodate a diverse range of commercial and industrial development. A broad range of service commercial and industrial uses that require large land acres and minimal services will be encouraged to locate in industrial park settings.”
The OCP goes on to note, however, that certain conditions have to be met in order for commercial rezoning applications to be approved.
COMMERCIAL ZONING
Under the RM’s zoning bylaw, permitted commercial land uses include:
*Retail/service commerical,
*Convenience stores, with or without gas bars,
*Lumber yards, home improvement centres,
*Recreation facilities,
*Hotels, motels, restaurants,
* Offices and office buildings,
* Nurseries and garden centres,
* Auction markets, including livestock auction facilities.