Looking at La Salle’s future growth

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This article was published 11/03/2019 (2389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adding commercial and industrial businesses and multi-family and 55-plus housing will help La Salle’s economy and social climate to flourish in the future.

These are some of the findings contained in the La Salle Secondary Plan final report created for the RM of Macdonald by Landmark Planning & Design. The council’s vote on adopting the report will be held after a public hearing on Tues., March 26 at 5 p.m. at 161 Mandan Dr., Sanford.

The study’s findings are based on information gathered at a stakeholder meeting on June 1, 2017 that brought together the La Salle Chamber of Commerce, Macdonald Services for Seniors,  La Salle Community Centre, Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District, La Salle Daycare, Macdonald Fire Department and the Seine River School Division.

Local developers and landowners such as Cobblestone, Marcel Vouriot, Paradigm, the Pfrimmer family, Two Four Seven Inc., and Ventura were also consulted at a meeting. A community workshop was held on Oct. 25, 2017 with over 50 participants. A community survey was sent to about 640 local households in early 2018, generating 67 responses.

A community vision was developed that reads in part:

“As La Salle continues to grow, residents would like to preserve the community’s small-town feel and rural character, emphasizing that the lifestyle is different than that of Winnipeg. Residents want La Salle to be more than a bedroom community; they want to see La Salle continue to develop a sense of community. Part of this includes ensuring that the town has enhanced services along an upgraded Main Street, allowing residents to meet many of their daily needs locally, and in the future, increasing employment opportunities nearby.

“The community would like to grow in a way that makes it accessible to people of various ages, including seniors and young adults. This may involve diversifying housing options, while ensuring that new housing is contextually sensitive and respects adjacent built form (through buffers, setbacks, transitions, landscaping, etc.).”

According to the final report, the 2016 census shows La Salle as having 2,069 residents. The majority fall within the 35 to 49 year age range but the size of this age group is closely followed by that of children from birth to age 9. Over 62 per cent of La Salle’s 635 homes are occupied by couples with children, and only six per cent are single-person households.

The average annual household income for Macdonald residents is $117,248 which is much higher than the provincial average of $68,147, but a bit lower than Headingley which has an average of $124,544. La Salle’s unemployment rate is about 4.6 per cent and is lower than Winnipeg’s 6.3 per cent rate. The majority of local workers are employed in the trades, transport, and operators, management, and sales and services sectors.

The report contains with a series of objectives to guide Macdonald council’s policies. These include allowing developers to provide a variety of lot sizes and housing options for single- and multi-family homes. Retail, commercial and industrial development can be encouraged in areas along PRs 330 and 247 to provide residents with more local services and opportunities for employment.

The report states an efficient and accessible network of roads and walking and cycling pathways should be established. Council can support development with adequate water and sewer infrastructure and land drainage. Natural areas along the La Salle River should be preserved and interpretive signage added along pathways.

Recommendations include enhancing Rue Principale (Main Street) through a design plan. Council could work to engage community members in development discussion by forming a planning advisory committee to pre-screen and discuss development applications before public hearings are held. A design committee could be set up to review applications for multi-family or townhouse development before a conditional use hearing is held. Both committees would report to council.

Signs erected by developers that show the proposed land uses, roads and pathways, parks and other features would help inform adjacent property owners of what new developments will entail.

An active transportation plan would outline current and future pedestrian and cyclist corridors, and include a crosswalk across PR 247 between Rocan Street and Caisse Community Centre as well as between 2nd and 3rd Avenues across Rue Principale, and at Vouriot Road and PR 247 to access the pedestrian bridge. The municipality can consider taking over responsibility for sections of PR 330 and 247 in the future and work with Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation on a transportation study for La Salle in the short-term.

Developers of any projects along the La Salle River should be required to provide a minimum of 15 per cent of riverbank frontage as public reserve.

All developers of single or multi-family homes whose plans involve rezoning, a variance or conditional use should pay the municipality 10 per cent of the increased land value to offset future additional municipal costs such as for recreational facilities.

Housing design standards that incorporate guidelines on setbacks, landscaping and separation among other things should be developed and incorporated in a zoning bylaw or development agreement. Landowners should also be required to provide concept plans for any development occurring in residential land use areas.

To see the La Salle Secondary Plan report, go to http://www.rmofmacdonald.com