City to begin asking what Winnipeggers want to see on Public Safety Building site
Changes to growth-fee plan likely; city to study implications of self-driving cars
Winnipeg will soon begin public consultations about the future of the land around the Public Safety Building, the city's former police headquarters.
In April, city council voted to demolish the brutalist structure, over the objections of its architect and heritage advocates. Council also voted to ask Winnipeggers what they would like to see at the Princess Street site, which was donated to the city in 1875 under the condition it must have some form of public use.
Those public consultations will begin in the next six to eight weeks, planning, property and development director John Kiernan said Tuesday.
City property officials will meet with downtown development agency CentreVenture within 10 days to get the process going, Kiernan said.
The city intends to demolish the Public Safety Building as well as the adjacent Civic Centre Parkade in 2017. The parkade, which was shuttered in 2012 due to structural issues, is expected to be sold.
Kiernan said the proceeds of the parkade sale will offset the $1.8-million demolition cost, which will be absorbed by the Winnipeg Parking Authority.
The Public Safety Building was vacated by the Winnipeg Police Service in June, when they completed their move into their new headquarters on Graham Avenue.
Changes may be in store for growth-fee plan
The City of Winnipeg is poised to amend its plan to institute growth fees in 2017, but Winnipeg's property director is leaving it up to elected officials to disclose the nature of those changes.
On Wednesday, council's executive policy committee will consider a finance-department plan to begin charging "impact fees" that will add $18,300 to the cost of an 1,800-square-foot new home next year.
Mayor Brian Bowman said last week he is prepared to delay a vote on the plan until changes are made, suggesting there ought to be a means to address infill development.
On Tuesday, planning, property and development director John Kiernan, whose department did not prepare the report, said more consultations with developers and changes to the plan may be in store. But he declined to comment on what those changes may be and deferred to executive policy committee instead.
Correspondence obtained by CBC Manitoba revealed Kiernan expressed concerns in August about an early version of the growth-fee plan because it proposed the blanket application of the fees to every area of the city, rather than use the program to direct development in specific areas, such as downtown.
Kiernan said Tuesday the "impact-fee" plan can be made to be consistent with Our Winnipeg, the city's long-term planning framework.
City to study self-driving cars
Winnipeg will study the potential impact of self-driving cars, at the behest of St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard.
Council's property committee voted Tuesday to see how other cities are preparing for the arrival of self-driving vehicles.
Allard showed the committee a nine-minute CBC News report about the vehicles.
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