Polo Park proposals gain steam

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This article was published 05/09/2019 (2229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Proposals to allow new multi-residential development in the Polo Park area were given a boost Wednesday, despite continued opposition from the Winnipeg Airports Authority.

City councillors on the property and development committee voted 3-1 to send the proposals to a public hearing — but they first have to be approved by Mayor Brian Bowman and the executive policy committee, and then council.

The WAA, which owns and operates Richardson International Airport, remains concerned that allowing further residential development in the restricted zone around the transportation hub will result in complaints from new residents.

Those complaints will lead to public pressure on politicians and, ultimately, restrictions on the 24-hour operations of the airport, Tyler MacAfee, WAA vice-president of communications and government relations, told reporters.

“We know how this story ends,” he said, adding similar situations have affected airports across the country.

It became public last week that City of Winnipeg officials had met privately with two developers — Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. and Towers Realty Group Ltd. — with both requesting the restrictive zoning around the airport be amended to allow projects to proceed.

Cadillac Fairview, which owns the Polo Park shopping centre, is seeking permission to develop an 80-acre parcel of land surrounding the mall (from Portage to St. Mathews avenues, and St. James and Empress streets) with a series of highrise residential towers.

Towers Realty represents several firms, which own 17 separate properties on 34 acres of land (most of them on the west side of St. James, between Portage and just north of Ellice Avenue) wanting to do something similar.

Both proposals need an amendment to the Airport Vicinity Protection Secondary Plan, which was established in 1997 to prohibit residential development in a zone immediately adjacent to the airport.

Councillors on the committee confirmed they had received copies of a letter sent from Barry Rempel, WAA president and chief executive officer, to Bowman and Premier Brian Pallister, asking the two political leaders to put a pause on the applications while an overall review of the secondary plan could be considered.

The developers argue public concerns about airport noise have been mitigated in the past 20 years by advances in building materials, construction methods, and aircraft design.

However, Rempel said, that’s not the case.

“Globally, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, as despite the prevalence of these mitigation factors, air traffic complaints continue to rise,” the WAA head says in a copy of the letter obtained by the Free Press.

If council approves, a public hearing will be held by the Assiniboia community committee, which consists of Couns. Janice Lukes, Kevin Klein and Scott Gillingham.

Coun. Brian Mayes, chairman of the property and development committee, voted against supporting the initiative Wednesday, citing concern for potential ramifications on the transportation hub.

“I’m leery of doing anything that would negatively impact the 24-hour status of the airport,” he said.

Lukes and Klein are also members of the property and development committee and, along with Coun. Sherri Rollins, voted to send the project to a public hearing.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Rempel Letter to Bowman and Pallister