Last week, Act Up provided information about Mayor Fiacco and family’s landholdings in Devonia Park, south of the Regina airport. For those of you new to the issue, or wanting to learn more, click on ‘read more’ (below) for back-story and additional information about the land. Feel free to add your own comments and information that may not be included in this report.

Devonia Park was surveyed and divided into lots back in 1912, with the idea that the city might someday expand westward. The city didn’t grow that way, though – and after the airport was constructed it seemed it wouldn’t. Until recently, the Regina Airport Authority generally opposed development directly south of the airport because of concerns about safety and noise. Nonetheless, over the years people bought and sold the lots, doubtless hoping the value would increase over time, especially if the airport needed more space.

Devonia Park’s fortunes changed dramatically after City Hall dusted off and renewed development plans for the area, and then gained the support of the Regina Airport Authority. The new Airport Authority chair is former Regina mayor Larry Schnieder.

Among the Devonia Park landowners are the Fiaccos, who purchased a block of lots in 1974 valued at $8,700 at the time. Combined, the family members today own 34 lots, making them the second-largest Devonia Park landholders after Ronald Burgmann (see pie chart). Other notable landowners include the Cateri family, who recently achieved notoriety in the Cathedral Area after rent increases to their 13^th Avenue commercial properties were followed by the closure of several neighbourhood services. The sudden loss of a bookseller, a tailor and a hardware store left a strip of “ghost stores” opposite Safeway.

Beyond the Devonia Park survey area, but still within the southwest development plan, are some larger tracts of land that were not subdivided into lots. They are owned by the City, the Crown and various land developers, including Dundee Developments, a division of the Toronto-based Dundee Realty Corporation, and several local property development corporations, including Builder’s Development (Tom Shepherd, Pres.) and Beaucorp Ventures Ltd. (Leo Beaudry, Pres.). 

This is a report of public information available in ISC (land titles) and Saskatchewan Corporations Branch records. We hope it is useful for promoting informed public discussion.

Comments

Who lobbied the Province to change the z Written by Hugo Chavez on 2006-09-20 11:36:46 I seem to remmeber the Mayor did this but haven't been able to find the info.  Maybe you guys can

Fiacco and Schnieder Written by Guest on 2006-09-20 16:13:30 Isn't Pat Fiacco related to Larry Schnieder by marriage? How convenient.

Pops-in-law Written by Guest on 2006-09-20 16:58:11 I believe Larry Schneider - chair of the Airport Authority that suddenly cleared the path for development - is Pat's daddy-in-law.

Fiacco Written by Guest on 2006-09-20 18:11:30 It's hard to believe that Pat's dad was able to do that on a City employees wage (he worked at the Public Works Garage). But then again he didn't work under a Mayor who forced employees to go on strike, or a Mayor who forced employees to take less than inflation for raises, or a Mayor who says city workers pensions are "too rich", a pension which by the way Mike injoys to this day. Boy how things change..................from left to right!

Been to L.A.? Written by Guest on 2006-09-20 22:17:39 Anyone been to L.A.? Gee, there is a lot of homes and business arpund LAX. Come to think of it, most airports have some form of population around them. Perhaps the left need to get out more?    As for the entire Mayor conspiracy thing, I'm sure Pat and his family had a time machine in their back yard and used it to come to the future and influence events. Jeeze, what a lame bunch of hooey! Lord forbid anyone make some progress!

LA Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 09:40:37 I've been to LA. Actually, LA is famous globally for the worst forms of city development - sprawl, clogged freeways, pollution, etc. Something like east Regina. You can have it, don't park it next to my neighbourhood. Land developers, real estate agents and landowners love it though, and always want even more sprawl -- hmmm, sounds like I just described City Council.

progress? Written by oswald on 2006-09-21 10:55:47 The idea that "any growth is good growth" has got to go. We need to start thinking intelligently about /how/ we organize our communities for the benefit of everyone, not just those who stand to make a quick buck from a new big box or strip mall on the edge of town.

Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 11:08:05 It's hard to believe that Pat's dad was able to do that on a City employees wage    Why is this so hard to believe? - My father worked for the City for 38 years, provided for a family of four, owned his own house and also was able to purchase a small farm. Sure, we lived frugally - its all about how you spend or dont spend it - union mentality is a big reason as to why this province will never attain a population growth or an increase in big business - who wants to come to a place where your hands are tied at the border?  P.O'ed in Regina

Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 13:29:19 I agree with P.O'ed in Regina, heaven help us if someone prospers in this province. Without investment and risk takers this province will continue to talk about what could have been instead of doing something about it. With hard work and many sacrifices anyone can be successfull. Or if you choose you can cry in your beer and whine about how everyone has more than you. Typical left wing garbage

Didn't get it Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 15:19:39 I think PO'd in Regina didn't get what the previous poster was trying to say: that working for the City used to be a decent living, with money left over to set aside for dreams and investments. Under the current council, that's changed. Wages have slipped and if Pat's dad were a city employee today he'd be more concerned about buying groceries than buying land.

Didn't get it Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 15:27:26 How is that different than any other sector, I agree disposal income has dropped for city workers, but it has also dropped for every other Canadian. Surely you aren't suggesting wages that are substantialy higher than the private sector who funds these services?

LA spread Written by Guest on 2006-09-21 16:52:40 Why just be part of the solution (bitching), become part of the problem! Positions are open on the planning board, go down to City Hall, and volunteer. oh wait, that would be unpaid work..not somthing lefites are really into, unless it entails hammering picket signs into city boulevards.

business owners against sprawl and big b Written by Guest on 2006-09-22 13:03:39 I find all of the discussion around development to be quite frustrating. I am a small business owner in Saskatoon and am no fan of the kind of development that the Saskatoon and Regina city councils are supporting. People who seem to be of the opinion "any development is good development" should do a little research about what companies like Wal-Mart have done to local communities across the continent.     Wal-Mart now accounts for 1 in every 5 retail sales in the US. It is so big that it is creating monopolies in its suppliers even to be able to supply the product that Wal-Mart needs at the prices that it demands. It just forced Gillette and Proctor and Gamble to merge to be able to supply Wal-Mart with razors at the prices that it demands even though Gillette owned 70% of the razor market. Wal-Mart does not operate within the market, it operates above it, dictating prices and quantities to companies as big as Kraft, Rubbermaid, Coke and Pepsi. There is not a hope in hell that locally run businesses can compete with this behemoth.     If you are a local retailer in a number of sectors (food, hardware, books houseware, office supplies, etc.) you are likely fighting for your life. Competition with the big boxes in near impossible. In Saskatoon there is no grocery store within a 30 block radius in the neigbourhoods surrounding the city centre. The trend will continue as we lose the Extra Foods on Broadway. You now have to bus or drive (most likely drive) to get food. This makes it more and more expensive for the folks in the core area to access decent food. What is happening now is that those people are buying their groceries from local gas stations and convenience stores. They are getting access only to very unhealthy food and as a result there is a gap in health between their neighbourhood and the more affluent neighbourhoods in Saskatoon that you would expect to see between a first and a third world country.    Those who champion the kind of big box development that our two current city councils are persuing, fail to see the larger picture. These decisions have impacts that are complex and often irreversible. They help to exacerbate existing social problems (such as the food access issue mentioned above), they kill local business and put people who have spent their whole lives serving communities out of business, and they lock us into a particular kind of future. That future is one of dependence on foreign multinationals to provide our basic needs. A question worth pondering is "what happens if the US economy collapses (as many top economists say is only a matter of time due to the incredible ballooning national debt and trade deficit) and we are dependent on a food system that is concentrated at the production, transportation, storage, distribution and retail points?" I would say that we are in big trouble. Especially those of us who have forgotten how to garden and hunt and expect to be able to get fresh produce from California year round at the Wal-Mart grocery store. These are the questions that some people (leftists and others) are pondering while we are being bashed those who unquestioningly support urban sprawl and the fossil-fuel dependent lifestyle that it is logically based upon (a whole other can of worms).    Maybe instead of slinging inflamatory rhetoric at one another we should be discussing the implications of any and all development plans in a more respectful and responsible way. Our communities and our planet depend on it.

Written by Hugo Chavez on 2006-09-25 13:40:42 I agree, we truly need to adopt a modern economic/development model.  Go here Tons of ideas from these guys.

Written by Hugo Chavez on 2006-09-25 13:41:45 Link sans Typo

Written by Hugo Chavez on 2006-09-29 18:33:36 Link sans Typo

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