Keystone Agri-Motive along Highway #12 north in Steinbach is expanding. The farm equipment dealer this week asked city council for a variance regarding parking. According to the city's bylaws, the expansion would require Keystone to have 50 paved parking stalls. It applied for a variance to have 32 paved parking stalls along the front and side of the building and to leave the rest of the area as a gravel parking lot for implements.

City councillor Jac Siemens moved approval of the request.

"I reviewed this property. I was on the property and there are a couple of reasons why I think that we should agree with this variation. The Zoning Bylaw is a good bylaw when it comes to retail commercial establishments but I think that there is a variation that makes sense here. This is an implement dealer and the people attending this dealership don't drive cars necessarily, 90% will be in half-tons. There'll be quite a few that also come with their implements because that's what they do here, they come to an implement dealer to get repairs done. Parking here is very short term. They are in to buy parts and they're out. There will be longer term parking because they sell tractors and equipment there but that's limited as to how many vehicles are there."

Part of the reason for the bylaw's insistence on paved parking is to avoid dragging gravel onto paved roads. But the applicant noted the front service road is gravel so the rule should not apply.

City council was unanimous in approving the request. Siemens says this is a very unique situation and he is not worried about setting a precedent that could have negative repercussions.

"This is a decision made by council that falls on the common sense side."