Councillors, city staff spar over shunned Walmart plan

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This article was published 07/06/2011 (5546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a development tug of war, senior city hall administrators are trying to woo Walmart while politicians in the city’s northeast quadrant are playing hardball with the world’s largest retailer.

Walmart Canada will appear before council’s property and development committee this morning to appeal a city decision to reject the retailer’s plan to convert an existing Regent Avenue West store into a larger Walmart supercentre.

Potentially at stake is not just the Regent expansion, but a separate city effort to convince Walmart to build a new distribution centre in Winnipeg, instead of elsewhere in Western Canada.

Over the past year, Walmart Canada has been trying to gain city approval to expand its Regent store. On May 17, council’s East Kildonan-Transcona community committee finally voted to allow the expansion, but only if Walmart builds a new roadway down the centre of the site, plants more trees and also builds a new a bike path.

Walmart, however, sought to obtain a plan approval that did not include those amendments. Under city rules, the plan was rejected, setting the stage for today’s appeal.

“We’re asking for some simple things here: better access to the site and some landscaping. It’s not too much to ask for a corporation like Walmart,” said Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt, who represents the area. “But they don’t want to do a damned thing to the site.”

According to council rules, Wyatt won’t be able to sit on the appeal committee because he’s already voted on the plan. Neither can North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty, the committee chairman.

That leaves the Regent expansion up to two councillors: Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) and rookie Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood). Both must vote in favour in order for Walmart to succeed, as tie votes result in failures.

Phil Sheegl, Winnipeg’s chief administrative officer, said via email he is concerned about the developmental fallout from a negative decision at the property committee.

Wyatt complained the senior city staff should not attempt to exert influence over political decisions and claimed Walmart is trying to push Winnipeg around.

Browaty, however, said Wyatt is being inflexible about the site plan. The property chairman said the main issue is not Walmart, but the absence of consistent standards for big-box developments in Winnipeg.

A spokeswoman for Walmart Canada in Mississauga declined to comment.

In January, Walmart announced a plan to spend more than $500 million in Canada to build new stores and renovate or relocate others.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca