Residents of a north Winnipeg neighbourhood let out a collective sigh of relief last week after a city committee rejected a second application to build a four-unit condominium complex on Scotia Street.

Members of the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee recommended on April 10 that Fairview Custom Homes not be allowed to build the four-unit complex at 108 Scotia near Luxton Avenue.

More than a dozen area residents registered in opposition to the developer’s application for a conditional use variance for the property. The variance would have allowed the construction of a multi-family unit on the lot.

The community committee rejected a recommendation from the city’s planning department to grant the conditional use application, ending the saga of the four-plex proposed for the lot.

Residents were opposed the plans of developer Paramjit Shahi and architect Brian Mansky from the start. Some said drawings of the project were inaccurate and didn’t reflect the true scope of the proposal while Mansky countered the drawings were to scale.

Resident Kaeryn Gregory said there was "misrepresentation" throughout the process.

Gregory, whose house is located next to the site of the proposed development, called the proposed building a "monster."

Last week’s community committee meeting was the second time the developer and area residents clashed in the past five months.

Residents first voiced concerns about the proposal at a Nov. 15, 2011 community committee meeting. At the time, the residents said they were concerned the project could lead to an increase in neighbourhood density as well as parking and traffic problems.

Resident Kory Bodnaryk questioned why another public hearing was required when people in the community had already explained their concerns about the project.

Following the original community committee hearing, the city’s planning, property and development committee recommended at a Nov. 29 meeting that the proposal to build the two-storey complex be allowed to proceed.

The decision prompted area Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) to send an expletive-filled email to members of the standing policy committee calling their decision a betrayal.
 
Mansky said at last week’s committee meeting that the lot should be considered infill housing and should be treated as a special case by the city.

"There is always a challenge to fit the vacant lot and it is not conducive to single family development," he said.

Mansky said the developer may consider subdividing the lot and constructing duplexes with "secondary suites."

The lot is currently vacant after the previous home on the site was destroyed by fire.

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