Mustard Seed rezoning opposed by city planning commission heads to Dec. 7 public hearing

Medicine Hat city council gave first reading Monday to a bylaw that would rezone 514 South Railway Street SE, setting a Dec. 7, 2026 public hearing on an application that the Municipal Planning Commission has already recommended council reject, according to discussion at the Nov. 2 regular council meeting. The site is being proposed as a 24 hour, 80 bed homeless shelter operated by the Mustard Seed.

The application would rezone the property from Urban Villages and Corridors District to Direct Control Special Use District under Bylaw 4904/2026. Council voted to pass first reading, which under the Municipal Government Act is required before a public hearing can be advertised. Councillor Clugston recused themselves before the vote, declaring a pecuniary interest because their family owns property within a few metres of the site.

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Mayor Clark told council the MPC's position does not end the process. "I will also just note that this is being referred from the Municipal Planning Commission," Mayor Clark said during Monday's council meeting. "I understand that they recommended not to — for council not to do the rezoning. So that's, that's how our process currently works. Nonetheless, for procedural fairness reasons, we do still need to have the public hearing and keep open minds with respect to these submissions we receive before debating and making a decision."

The meeting drew public attention before it was held, with council members saying they had already received a volume of emails and letters about the rezoning. Those earlier submissions cannot simply carry over: anyone who wrote in before first reading was passed Monday night must resubmit to the city clerk by 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 30 for their comments to be included in the council package for the Dec. 7 hearing. The city clerk's email is clerk@medicinehat.ca.

Coun. Young pressed for clarity on why earlier submissions needed to be refiled. The city clerk said the requirement is about quality control. "I know for a fact I've received a number of letters that were forwarded to me by council," the city clerk said during Monday's meeting. "So there are a number of emails that have went to some of council, all of council, city clerk, just myself, it's easy to lose sight of some of those. So if we narrow the filter to one person, at that point we can ensure that every single one of those is hitting the council package for December 7th."

Residents have two ways to participate in the public hearing: submit written comments to clerk@medicinehat.ca before the Nov. 30 deadline, or appear in person or online at the Dec. 7 hearing. Those wishing to speak in person can simply show up; the mayor said anyone in the chamber or attending online who wants to make a submission may do so. To help the clerk gauge time, anyone planning to speak is asked to give advance notice by emailing clerk@medicinehat.ca, though that notice is not required.

Groups presenting together receive 10 minutes to speak; the mayor noted in discussion that this is more than if individuals speak separately. No hard per-speaker time limit was stated beyond the meeting's scheduled end time. If submissions run past the meeting's regular end time, council can vote to extend or recess and continue on another date.

Council is scheduled to debate and vote on second reading of Bylaw 4904/2026 only after the Dec. 7 public hearing has concluded.