DQ coming to ESP

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This article was published 27/08/2020 (1851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

East St. Paul council had a busy meeting on Aug. 18.

A variance application for a Dairy Queen drive-thru was among many items on the agenda. Funding for bylaw officers to do added patrols, the paving of a popular active transportation route, and the planting of 82 new trees in the community was also approved.

Mayor Shelley Hart said a developer had applied to build a Dairy Queen off Birds Hill Road, in the Sobeys parking lot. While the zoning bylaw allowed for a restaurant, a variance was required for the proposed drive-thru. The applicant attended a public hearing on the matter on July 7, and returned before council with more information on Aug. 18, where the application was approved unanimously.

“There were a couple comments from residents, some concerns about movement within parking lot of Sobeys, and some noise,” Hart noted. “It is adjacent to some properties. The development agreement will include requirements around sound mitigation to protect those homes.”

Hart said she is hopeful that the Dairy Queen, which will be open all year, could become a valuable amenity to the area.

“One thing people have said over the years is they want more destinations, like coffee shops and ice cream, in our community,” Hart said. “It could become a summer destination. It adds to the walkability of the area.”

Construction can begin once the development agreement between the applicant and the RM has been signed.

East St. Paul residents will also notice a more active presence from Prairie Bylaw Enforcement in the community. Council approved a budget of $50,000 to have bylaw officers add local patrols on evenings and weekends, which Hart noted are times when the local RCMP officers are often busy.

“This provides a sense of safety in our community,” she said. “We’ll be testing it this fall and assess the effectiveness. Next year we’ll look at the budget and see if we want to continue or expand their role.”

Residents may also note some changes to the community coming soon. 

Council approved funding to pave the Marconi Trail from Hoddinott Road to where the path connects with the Northeast Pioneers Greenway in the City of Winnipeg.

“We have talked about doing it for some time, but now we have awarded the contract,” Hart said. “It will be done by end of this year.”

The project comes at a cost of $267,000. The RM applied for, and received, funding from the federal government for $105,000, while the Red River North Trails Association is to receive a grant for $75,000 from the provincial government for the project.

Council also approved $52,000 to have 82 trees planted along Southlands Drive.

According to Kurtis Johnson, assistant operations manager for the RM, The trees that will be planted are hackberry, American linden, and Ohio buckeye. 

“One of my goals has been to diversify our tree population within the RM,” Johnson, a journeyman landscape horticulturist, explained. “We’ve started that last spring, installing some different varieties, which is to do with the increase in Dutch elm disease and the potential for emerald ash borer.”

Johnson believes the new trees will be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

“The three trees that were chosen have quite different leaf, so we’ll get different textures and colours at different times of the year,” he said. “They also have the ability to attract different beneficial insects, like pollinators.”

Planting is set to being Oct. 12, and be completed by Oct. 31.

For more information, visit www.eaststpaul.com