Councillors delay decision on St. Norbert forest

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This article was published 22/11/2023 (695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE future of the Lemay Forest in St. Norbert remains unclear, along with a new housing development that might replace it.

City council’s property and development committee opted Wednesday not to vote on a call to negotiate a price for the 22 1/2-acre site on private land and refer its potential purchase to next year’s city budget process. Instead, the committee delayed the vote until January.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, the committee’s chairwoman, said she needs more information before she can consider acquiring private land for public forestry, especially since the motion called to devote $7,500 of land dedication reserve funds to appraise the site’s value.

“That’s a pretty aggressive step towards perhaps acquiring it, given that it is privately held. I want some background, as chair, before I contemplate that,” said Rollins.

Many St. Norbert residents have asked the city to help prevent the loss of the property’s trees, which could be cut down or reduced to make space for a future housing development by the land’s owner, Tochal Development Group.

Area resident Stacy Gosman told the committee the forest is well-used by the community and includes thousands of trees that form an important habitat for animals.

“For years, we’ve walked Lemay Forest, not even realizing it (wasn’t) city-owned until 2019. Lemay Forest is a big reason why we have good quality of life in this neighbourhood,” said Gosman.

While council has set a priority to protect and increase green space, it is also taking steps to boost the local housing supply, which the land’s owner is proposing to do.

Planner John Wintrup, who spoke on behalf of Tochal, said the development would create much-needed “inclusionary housing,” such as accessible, affordable and assisted-living units, though the exact number of dwellings has yet to be determined.

The company would like to act soon.

“We’re looking for certainty, we’re not looking for conflict. We’d like to do inclusionary housing, either here or somewhere else,” said Wintrup.

Last month, Tochal reached out to the city, province and Ottawa, along with non-government organizations, Indigenous groups and school divisions, to gauge interest in buying the land to preserve the trees. However, the company also warned that if solid progress on that front isn’t reached by Dec. 31, it will pursue its housing plan.

The tight timeline shouldn’t trigger a rushed political decision, Rollins said.

“I am not going to be held hostage to time when this is an item that is new before me and the public service is there to provide briefings. Insofar as they might have background on this property, I’d like to hear it before I consider anything else, for or against acquisition,” she said.

In an interview following Wednesday’s vote, Wintrup said the company could wait until January to hear more about the city’s intentions for the property but won’t pause the project indefinitely.

“We’re patient, (but) they clearly have to indicate to us their level of interest,” he said.

The developer will need to make a decision on the land by the spring, though public access will end Nov. 30, Wintrup said.

The property and development committee also postponed calls to explore interest in a government purchase of 62 1/2 acres of forested private land at 36 and 88 Sumka Road, and a more general study of options to buy or expropriate private land that is heavily forested or contains an abundance of mature trees.

“Perhaps, the administration could advise in terms of how we could move the City of Winnipeg to a place where we don’t only expropriate land for roads, but we expropriate for other council priorities, like preserving trees,” said Coun. Matt Allard, who raised the motion.

The broad, latter motion needs to be refined to determine exactly what should be studied, Rollins said.

Both of those motions will also be considered in January.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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