Province, residents at odds with developer, city planners over quashed 199-unit Charleswood apartment plan
Cameron MacLean | CBC News | Posted: November 8, 2022 1:06 AM | Last Updated: November 8, 2022
Manitoba Municipal Board rejected proposal after residents protested, raising questions of city's independence
Plans to build an apartment block in Charleswood won't proceed after a provincial board rejected the plan, and while some residents in the area who opposed the project are happy, one expert says the board interfered with city planning.
Brent Horrill, the president of a condo complex near where the 199-unit apartment building was set to be built, was one of dozens of residents who spoke out against the proposal.
"It was just going to be ridiculous — for us in the back there and our safety, let alone the safety of the people that … were going to be proposed to be living in here," Horrill said.
Councillors approved the project in February, but the Manitoba Municipal Board held its own hearings and sent a letter to the city recommending it reject the proposal in September.
"The board considers the size and scale of the proposed development and proposed rezoning to be incompatible with the character, context and built form of the surrounding dwellings and established neighborhood," the letter said.
The letter went on to say that the board believes "the site is appropriate for some level of infill development" and that the site's current zoning, which is residential multi-family small, would still allow for development of diverse housing "in a form and density that are sensitive and complimentary to the character and features of this unique site and area."
The plans called for the L-shaped building to have two towers: one with eight storeys at 25.6 metres (84 feet) tall, and another with 10 storeys at 31.7 metres (104 feet) tall.
City planners had argued in a report to council that the project aligned with city plans because it was close to active transportation and transit routes, and would have provided a variety of housing options that would allow people who are aging out of their current homes to stay in the area.
The developer had proposed the apartment complex would be geared toward people aged 55 and older.
'Simply too large'
Horrill worried that the project could create traffic hazards for people coming in and out of the driveway at 4025 Roblin Blvd.
There is currently no way to turn left from Roblin Boulevard onto the property, and the plans did not call for one to be built.
He also worried it would obstruct the view of the former Independent Order of the Odd Fellows Home, a century-old building on the site.
Over on McQuaker Drive, Monica DuBois said people in the area are not "anti-development," but the proposed development was "simply too large."
"That is what I would consider to be the gateway to Charleswood there. So you're really setting the tone for coming into a very residential quiet area for the whole neighborhood. So I'm very happy that [the municipal board] listened," she said.
CBC News requested an interview with the developer, Landmark Planning, but did not receive a response.
Erodes city independence: expert
While some residents in the area are pleased with the municipal board's decision, city planning professor Richard Milgrom said it erodes the independence of the city government.
"The problem with this one in particular is it's actually responding to the complaints of a very specific constituency, whereas the issues of density … and things that use infrastructure efficiently are actually things that affect the city as a whole," said Milgrom, chair of the city planning department at the University of Manitoba.
Although the board's report states that it was making a recommendation, the City of Winnipeg Charter states that "council must not pass a proposed zoning bylaw that has been referred to the Municipal Board unless the proposed bylaw conforms to the recommendations that the board has made in its report to council in respect of the bylaw."
"Proceeding with the bylaw as proposed would be in violation of this section of the charter," said City of Winnipeg spokesperson Kalen Qually in an email.
Kevin Klein was the councillor for the area at the time of the proposal and provincial response. Although he says the board made the right decision, he believes a compromise could have been found.
"I think a little more discussion and a little more negotiation, we could have had some construction happening here that would have benefited everybody, but instead now we're at a stalemate and nothing is going to happen," he said.
Evan Duncan, who succeeded Klein as the councillor for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, said said it's unfortunate that the board's decision effectively "squashed" the proposal.
"I would have liked to potentially avoid that and come back to the community and, you know, find a better way forward," he said.
Now the developer has invested considerable time and money into a project that will not happen, and existing residents who want to move out of their homes but stay in the area have nowhere to go, he said.
"Lessons to be learned for any future proposals."