‘Here we go again’

A provincial overhaul of municipal development rules appears to have produced another hotly debated change.

While a Winnipeg city councillor fears it shortens the impact of municipal decisions, an industry consultant argues it should prevent unnecessary delays.

The change, which took affect last summer, removes a clause that had kept some rejected development applications from being heard again for one year.

Coun. Brian Mayes said the repeat hearings have sparked concern.

“If you’re applying (for), substantially, the same application the second time, there should be a ‘cooling off’ period, is my view. Otherwise, it’s just not fair to the residents. I don’t think that’s a good use of (councillors’) time. I don’t think that’s a good use of the public’s time,” said Mayes (St. Vital).

He first noted the concerns while chairing an appeal committee meeting at Winnipeg City Hall on March 18, when a lot-split proposal was considered for a second time, after the committee rejected it in October.

He said the removal of any minimum time between applications risks enticing developers to go “judge shopping” repeatedly in search of an outcome in their favour, since the membership of the appeal committee changes multiple times each year.

“It really just encourages you to keep applying in hopes of getting a different committee lineup… It’s unfair to the people who come out in opposition. If they’ve won the day (that should stand),” said Mayes.

The recent case involved splitting a 50-foot lot at 275 Renfrew St. to allow for two homes, each with a secondary suite, to replace a single-family home. The committee sided with appellants to reject the project for a second time.

Mayes said the proposal itself wasn’t the concern but city committee decisions should be honoured for at least a minimum amount of time.

“You just had a panel of elected people saying ‘no’ in October. The staff then says ‘yes’ again and then the only recourse for the public is to come back to the elected folks. It invites just endless reapplication,” he said.

During the meeting, city officials told the committee the rules now allow the planning, property and development department to prevent an application from being heard again if it was “refused” within the past year, such as when planning staff determine it doesn’t meet the standards of a city bylaw. However, if city staff decide an application does meet those terms but elected officials later vote to reject it, there is no longer a “cooling off” period following that political decision.

Mayes said he’s not sure if the provincial government had intended that outcome when it changed the wording.

He said he doesn’t fault developers for reapplying, but takes issue with the rule itself.

However, the applicant for the Renfrew lot-split said the rule is an improvement that could help ensure the traditional “cooling off” period can’t delay projects for too long.

“Either way, we have to pay for the holding costs of that property for one year, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars,” said Tajinder Singh, owner of Anand Infrastructure and Consulting Ltd.

He said that wait to reapply could allow costs to pile up enough kill an otherwise viable project.

Singh stressed his project also warranted further consideration because the proponents included more trees, switched some exterior materials, engaged an engineer to assess drainage concerns and completed more public consultations since it was rejected last fall.

He’d like the new rule to remain in place because he said it supports efficient development, especially as the city tries to add more housing.

“In the case of 275 Renfrew St., planners did support that application… so that gives us an opportunity to come back again because we are following all the guidelines,” said Singh.

Some residents who appealed the project, claiming it clashes with their neighbourhood, expressed concern about the second appeal being heard just a few months after the previous one.

“(Just a few) months later, here we go again. The new plan does not differ (much) from the first,” Denis Thibault told the committee.

In February, the provincial NDP government announced it will review a series of planning and development changes made by the former Progressive Conservative government between 2018 and 2023. This includes the hotly contested change that empowers Manitoba’s Municipal Board to cast final votes on appeals of a local council’s land-use decisions.

In a written statement, Municipal Relations Minister Ian Bushie did not specifically mention the apparent “cooling off” period change while noting the overall review.

“We recognize that this is an issue that the City of Winnipeg and municipalities are concerned about. We are currently reviewing Bill 37 and working in consultation with communities around the specific issues of this bill,” said Bushie.

A report with findings from the review is expected this fall.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga