Council signs off on amended Parker lands plan

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This article was published 26/11/2020 (1823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A decision-day compromise has led Winnipeg city council to approve the long-contested Parker lands development.

On Thursday, after years of debate and delay, and just before council was slated to cast its final vote on the matter, Mayor Brian Bowman introduced an amending motion, adding a few specific conditions.

After previously voting against the proposal, Bowman said he was pleased to see most of council support the revised version, describing the project as an important investment in the city.

“It’s trying to create density in an area that is and has been slated for many, many years for transit-oriented development. It helps the city realize on investments in rapid transit,” said Bowman.

Those conditions grant developer Gem Equities’ request to create 1,918 housing units on 47 acres of south Winnipeg land surrounded by the CNR Rivers line and the southwest rapid transitway. That amount is now set as the development’s maximum number of units.

The requirements also call for the development to: follow federal standards on building near railways; allow city officials to approve sidewalks and pathways; and ensure adequate turning space for school buses.

Council voted 14-2 in favour of an amended secondary plan, with Couns. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) and John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) opposed.

Council also approved the plan’s amended subdivision and rezoning in a 13-3 vote, which Rollins, Orlikow and Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) rejected.

The supporting votes conflict with recommendations from city planning officials, who have repeatedly called for the plan’s rejection. They argue the proposal doesn’t meet land-use criteria for a transit-oriented development and offers too few details.

Multiple councillors said the project’s location — next to the $467-million transitway — added to its appeal.

“This is an empty field (alongside where the city) spent half-a-billion (dollars) to build bus rapid transit. Leaving it as an empty field would seem like an incredible waste of money,” said Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

Those who opposed the plan agreed with city staff that it still requires more work.

“The secondary plan isn’t ready to go,” said Rollins.

Andrew Marquess, owner of Gem Equities, said he accepts the amendments, and was “very happy” to see council approve the project, which his company has discussed with the city since 2014.

“I always thought if we had an opportunity to share our vision for the development with the mayor and council, that they’d be supportive of the vision. So, obviously, that occurred here today,” he said.

A court previously ordered council to consider the process, after the developer launched a successful legal battle to achieve that goal.

However, another legal fight related to the project isn’t over.

Marquess said a $30-million lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg will continue, which accuses the city of misconduct and alleges some civic officials abused their public positions while handling the Parker lands proposal.

The lawsuit alleges the city also deliberately delayed the development. The allegations have not been proven in court.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga