Homelessness, housing supply top mayor’s new year list

By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 5:35 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023 Last Modified: 9:01 AM CST Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023 | Updates

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Mayor Scott Gillingham’s vision for 2024 includes clearing the way for hundreds of new affordable homes in Winnipeg, as cities across the country grapple with a housing crisis.

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Mayor Scott Gillingham’s vision for 2024 includes clearing the way for hundreds of new affordable homes in Winnipeg, as cities across the country grapple with a housing crisis.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/12/2023 (627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Scott Gillingham’s vision for 2024 includes clearing the way for hundreds of new affordable homes in Winnipeg, as cities across the country grapple with a housing crisis.

During a recent year-end interview, the mayor said tackling homelessness and increasing the Manitoba capital’s affordable housing supply will remain among his top priorities. While some projects are taking longer than expected, he has high hopes groundwork laid in 2023 will soon pay off.

“Through 2024, there will be a focus of collective effort moving towards developing one shared plan with a continued emphasis on a housing-first approach with wraparound supports. Many of our agencies within the city are co-ordinating and are focused on housing first, but we need to make sure that governments and all agencies and even the private sector are sharing the same vision,” said Gillingham.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Mayor, Scott Gillingham. — RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Mayor, Scott Gillingham.

Key city-led projects include a long-awaited effort to set aside land for modular “rapid housing,” with six housing sites able to contain 270 units. The mayor promised during the 2022 election campaign to move quickly to assemble city-owned or acquired properties to make space for those homes, with council ordering a report on the plan in December 2022.

That report was initially expected back about four months later, with expedited construction slated to follow within eight to 12 months of site approval.

Gillingham now expects the report will be released early in the new year.

“I, frankly, wish we had all six sites identified now. I wish we were further along on that. I think we’ve got a couple that are close to being… able to go public with,” he said.

“Many of our agencies within the city are co-ordinating and are focused on housing first, but we need to make sure that governments and all agencies and even the private sector are sharing the same vision.”–Scott Gillingham

“Having those sites available would be an important contribution the City of Winnipeg could make towards getting more housing units built… and getting more people off the streets.”

As part of the plan, the city will waive municipal taxes, as well as permit and development fees, for those homebuilding projects to make them quicker and easier to produce.

Gillingham said getting land in place would complement city efforts to obtain up to $192 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.

In late November, council approved major and controversial zoning changes to support the funding application, in response to a federal request to do so. Supporters hope the funding will support a local proposal to add 5,277 housing units by September 2026, including 1,342 affordable units.

“I, frankly, wish we had all six sites identified now. I wish we were further along on that.”–Scott Gillingham

While critics argued the changes will reduce public input and put green space at risk, the mayor stressed they were critical to secure much-needed funding.

Under the new rules, construction of up to four housing units on a single lot, buildings of up to four-storeys anywhere within 800 metres of frequent transit corridors, and mid-rise housing targeted for mall-area sites and commercial corridors are all permitted, eliminating the need for public hearings and city committee approvals to complete such projects.

On Tuesday, a media advisory noted an announcement on Winnipeg’s portion of the fund will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Meantime, the mayor said he’s pleased with efforts completed this year to assist Winnipeg’s most vulnerable residents. He deemed a $1-million extreme weather plan a key success. (It added more 24-hour safe spaces and a new winter pop-up shelter that opens when other emergency beds are full.)

Gillingham also expects the new year will bring progress on his goal to develop a shared plan (with the provincial government and social agencies) to address homelessness.

He said the deaths of two people at an encampment this month highlight why the issue is so urgent. “We can’t move fast enough on this. This is a priority, we continue to make it a priority.”

On Dec. 11, two people were found dead in a tent a North Point Douglas park. While cause of death has not been released, police confirmed the incident is not being investigated as criminal.

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.

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Neighbourhood action teams near launch date

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham expects his 2022 campaign pledge to add new full-time civic maintenance staff who can plow, plant, patch, repair, replace and mow, as needed, is close to being delivered.

Cross-trained to complete many different tasks, one area at a time, the mayor promised “neighbourhood action teams” would begin tackling smaller jobs to help cut the wait for some city services. He now expects residents will soon see those workers on the job.

“A lot of work has been done by public works in the background to get ready. I’ve been informed that early in the new year, in 2024, we’ll see those neighbourhood teams fully deployed onto the street.”

The mayor said he couldn’t confirm the exact number of staff to be added initially. His platform pledge called for about three teams of 10 to be on the job in 2023-24.

“Those positions have been funded… Residents will see a team come into their area, tackle everything on the to-do list, as far as city work to be done, and, by the time they leave the neighborhood, (it will be) in better shape than when they arrived,” said Gillingham.

During informal pilot tests, some groups of existing workers were sent out to tackle a variety of jobs, from landscaping to curb repair, in one set area at a time in the fall.

The campaign commitment described the approach as completing work “from the street up, not the department silo down,” with added training meant to speed up completion and help eliminate backlogs.

“I expect… people to feel the most impact in the spring. After winter, as we head into spring, that transition season is usually the season where the city looks in the worst shape, annually… But when a neighbourhood action team comes in and repairs the potholes and fixes the curb and trims a tree and sweeps the sidewalk, our neighbourhoods will look better. And when our neighbourhoods look better, we feel better. It’s about pride in our city,” the mayor said.

The election pledge also calls for the teams to work with community groups to flag priority problems and unresolved issues that need to be followed up by specialists in other city departments.

The teams are expected to report to the city’s chief administrative officer, who could redeploy them to help address urgent, city-wide needs, such as snow clearing after a blizzard.

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter