North Battleford city council meets in the Don Ross Centre chamber on Sept. 22, 2025.(Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Kenneth Cheung

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Residential zoning changes passed, whistleblower bylaw introduced in North Battleford

Sep 23, 2025 | 1:18 PM

City council has adopted zoning bylaw changes to encourage smaller homes and more flexible home-based businesses in North Battleford, while also giving first reading to a new whistleblower protection policy for municipal employees.

Council passed Bylaw No. 2187 by giving it second and third reading during its Sept. 22 meeting, which lowers the minimum floor area for single detached homes in R2 and R3 districts from 89 square metres to 58.

R2 areas are zoned for low-density housing such as single detached and two-unit dwellings, while R3 areas allow medium-density development, including multiple-unit dwellings and dwelling groups.

It also allows larger garages in some cases and replaces outright bans on certain home-based businesses with a permitting system and regular monitoring.

Mayor Kelli Hawtin said the changes are aimed at reducing barriers for local development.

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“There’s interest in building smaller homes right now,” she said. “This will allow something a bit smaller to be built on R2 and R3 lots. So, that would be a lot of infill lots, for example.”

She added the amendment also provides more flexibility.

“Larger garages, as long as there’s not exceeding a certain percentage [10.4 per cent] on the lot … just to give a little more flexibility with home-based businesses with oversight.”

“We want to make sure we’re development friendly, but also doing the right developments in the right areas,” Hawtin said.

Click here to read more about the zoning bylaw amendments.

Council also introduced Bylaw No. 2189, the Whistleblower Protection Bylaw.

The measure sets out a framework for investigating suspected wrongdoing inside city operations and protects staff from reprisals if they raise concerns in good faith.

Examples of wrongdoing under the bylaw include criminal activity such as theft or fraud, breaches of the city’s Code of Conduct, misuse of city funds or assets, false expense claims, or any act that creates serious harm to people or the environment.

City Clerk Stacey Hadley said the goal is to provide employees with clarity and protection.

“[The bylaw] is intended to establish the framework and process required to investigate allegations of suspected wrongdoing of employees of the City of North Battleford while also establishing protection from reprisal for those reporting suspected wrongdoing in good faith,” she wrote in her report to council .

Hawtin stressed the bylaw was not prompted by any specific incident.

“There’s no situation that’s arising that’s having this policy brought forward, but it was council asking last year, ‘Let’s make sure our staff has a has a proper channel to deal with those types of concerns.'”

The whistleblower policy will return for second and third readings at council’s Oct. 14 meeting.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com