Homeowner near proposed supervised drug consumption site disputing city property assessment increase

A Winnipeg man who lives near the province’s proposed supervised drug consumption site is disputing a possible 16 per cent increase in the city’s assessed value of his house.

Isidro Romeo Zapata said he expects the market value of his home, in the inner-city North Logan neighbourhood, to decrease or flat-line when the drug site is up and running.

“We are making a statement to the municipal government that they should care. This (site) is part of their problem, too,” Zapata said Monday. “My goal is to make sure they get the message.”

Zapata said at least half a dozen homeowners in the neighbourhood scheduled telephone appointments with the City of Winnipeg to dispute proposed assessed property values for the 2027 tax year.

He will ask the city to leave the assessed value of his home unchanged.

Zapata said his house is within 200 metres of 366 Henry Ave., a former warehouse where the NDP government plans to soon open a temporary drug site prior to a permanent one.

He and his wife raised their now-adult children in the home they’ve lived in for more than 30 years. They are among a group of residents, business owners and workers that does not want the site to be located in the neighbourhood.

Zapata expects more foot traffic in the area when the site is up and running for users of illegal drugs. He fears the neighbourhood will be less safe and crime will increase.

“My concern is safety and, in general, the value of the neighbourhood,” he said.

Zapata has no plans to sell his home.

“That’s why I’m in this fight to the end. That’s my house, that’s my area,” he said.

Zapata shared a copy of a letter that he plans to email to the city’s assessment and taxation department prior to his appointment.

“While I understand market values have risen across Winnipeg, I believe the specific circumstances affecting my neighbourhood at North Logan justify maintaining my previous assessment value,” the letter said.

“Specifically, I am concerned that the province’s decision to implement a drug injection site in the immediate vicinity has a direct impact on the local real estate market.

“Potential buyers view proximity to such facilities as a significant deterrent, which negatively affects the fair market value of my home compared to similar properties in other areas.”

The City of Winnipeg said the new property value assessments, recently mailed to 216,500 homes, are an estimate of market values as of April 1, 2025. The province announced plans for a drug site at 366 Henry in December, after ditching a proposed site in South Point Douglas following community opposition.

The median market change for homes in Winnipeg’s inner city, where North Logan is located, was 13 per cent. An increase in a property’s value does not mean an equivalent increase to property taxes, the city said.

Last week, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith indicated a temporary supervised drug consumption site could open within a few weeks. Users would inject illegal drugs they bring with them, under the supervision of staff.

The NDP government has said the site will help to connect drug users with treatment services and other supports. Smith has said the government is working with police and the Downtown Community Safety Partnership on a security plan.

It was unclear if the province studied potential impacts on property values.

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A spokesperson for Smith pointed to a McGill University study that found Toronto’s overdose prevention and supervised consumption sites were not associated with long-term increases in local crime.

The site will bring drug use in streets, parks or other open spaces indoors, where staff will help connect users with services, the spokesperson said.

The temporary facility, officially classified as an urgent public health need site, is initially expected to operate out of a mobile clinic or trailer on the property, which the province purchased last year. The Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre will manage the facility.

Smith said the province hopes to open a permanent supervised drug consumption site site by next winter. Permanent sites require Health Canada approval.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris 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.