Zoning changes to fast-track affordable housing builds will trigger higher prices: councillor

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This article was published 19/11/2024 (332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sweeping new changes aimed at making it easier to build multi-family housing at malls and along transportation corridors could lead to higher housing prices, instead of creating more affordable homes, a city councillor says.

During a Tuesday public hearing, Coun. Russ Wyatt suggested the changes could result in pricier homes instead of lower-rent options.

“Rezoning land (for previous development)… has driven our prices up, which this will do again,” said Wyatt (Transcona).

The new zoning rules would make multi-family housing developments a permitted use in some areas, removing the need for developers to complete potentially time-consuming zoning or variance applications and public hearings to get their projects approved.

The changes are intended to streamline the development process and trigger the creation of more residential units.

But Wyatt noted it’s not clear how many affordable units it would produce.

Winnipeg’s planning, property and development director, Hazel Borys, agreed demand could initially boost home prices.

“There is a pent-up demand for walkable, urban places…. When cities start changing their land-use laws to be more in line with that market demand, certainly, near term, it does drive prices up,” said Borys.

However, over time prices tend to level out and drop, she said.

Borys said boosting the housing supply should also help control prices in the overall housing market, while residents in the areas would also benefit from savings linked to their proximity to workplaces and transit routes.

“Our malls and corridors are also co-located with our job centres, so, therefore, folks have a better chance to live near where they work and reduce their transportation costs,” she said.

The changes would apply to new housing at select mall and corridor sites, including many major shopping sites, such as the Unicity and Kenaston retail areas, and large regional malls, such as Polo Park and St. Vital Centre.

The corridors include major commercial and transportation routes, such as large portions of Portage Avenue, Main Street, Pembina Highway, McPhillips Street, Henderson Highway, Nairn Avenue, St. Mary’s Road and St. Anne’s Road, among others.

Borys said the developments would provide enhanced civic, landscaping and street standards.

“Landscaping transforms existing mall drive aisles into tree-lined streets. Street standards encourage walkability,” she said.

During a presentation to the property and development committee last month, city staff said developers at such sites will be required to provide one or more green spaces, such as a plaza, park, multipurpose field, greenway or community garden. The exact requirement will depend on the size of each development.

Borys said those green spaces would be privately owned but may offer public access.

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The new rules are part of major zoning changes the city has committed to implement, as part of its deal to secure $122 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

Additional changes are planned to make it easier to add up to four housing units on a single residential lot and create up to four-storey buildings near frequent transit corridors but have not yet been finalized.

By deadline Tuesday, city council had not yet voted on the mall and corridor changes.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.