Decision a surprise at city hall

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This article was published 17/11/2016 (3309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall has been caught by surprise with Ottawa’s announcement it wants to demolish the Kapyong Barracks property.

A civic spokeswoman said the Department of National Defence spoke with city officials a week ago about the permit process but did not identify the Kapyong property. The spokeswoman said the city has little oversight on federal lands as DND could claim “royal prerogative,” which would exempt it from needing any civic permission or permits to do anything on Kapyong.

Couns. John Orlikow, chairman of the property and development committee, and Marty Morantz said they were unaware of the DND plans until they read about them in the Free Press.

Coun. Morantz, whose ward encompasses the military property, said he, too, learned of the demolition plans from the Free Press.

However, Morantz said the demolition can be positive if it leads to a faster resolution of the disposal of the property and its redevelopment as a mixed-use commercial and residential site.

“If this helps the process move forward so that at some point, sooner rather than later, we can get the land we need to widen Kenaston and see a real mixed-use development start to form on that land, I think this is likely a good move in the right direction,” Morantz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge) said.

Morantz lives across the street from the barracks property but said he hadn’t received a letter DND says the engineering firm it hired will be sending to the neighbourhood seeking public input.

“I’m glad to see they are consulting with the neighbourhood,” he said.

Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said DND contacted civic officials about a week ago to discuss the permit process. He said the department’s position is DND does not need to take out demolition permits because the city doesn’t have jurisdiction over Crown land.

Orlikow, whose ward is adjacent to the Kapyong site, said civic officials recommended DND take out the permits, adding it would facilitate a smoother co-ordination process when dealing with the removal of utility services.

“There’s been no permit applied for yet… and they don’t have to,” Orlikow said.

“The permit department doesn’t believe they need it because of the royal prerogative — it’s federal land.”

A civic spokeswoman said DND did not identify Kapyong property as the site for possible demolition when it spoke to permit officials. The spokeswoman said DND “could claim royal prerogative, which would exempt them from some or all requirements associated with the city’s permit process or other city approvals.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Area the government wants razed