Secondary plans are vital planning tools

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This article was published 19/01/2021 (864 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At the Jan. 4 Riel community committee meeting, I moved a motion calling for a secondary plan in the Central St. Boniface neighbourhood.

For the last two years, I have been lobbying for the creation of new, detailed neighbourhood plans which will help us guide and build public support for sustainable, context-sensitive infill development in St. Boniface ward and across Winnipeg.

A secondary plan is like a micro-neighbourhood version of the City of Winnipeg’s overall planning guidelines. It can provide detailed recommendations for density, design and other zoning decisions on a street-by-street, even property-by-property basis. A thorough community consultation process is undertaken to create one, which helps secure a high degree of certainty and consent from existing residents and property owners for future infill development.

For many years, we have had a secondary plan in the North St. Boniface neighbourhood, and my office participated in the modernization of it in 2016 with the help of the urban planning division and Old St. Boniface Residents’ Association.

I am a supporter of infill development. I believe it is critically important to meet our climate change goals, make our city more fiscally sustainable, rejuvenate our neighbourhoods, and provide much needed new and diverse housing to meet the varied needs of our communities.

I also know it can be controversial, and elicit strong opinions on all sides. Those opinions can also get deep down into the weeds.

That is why a thorough, detailed process can provide clarity, reduce conflict, and build trust and a spirit of collaboration in our neighbourhoods.

The planning and development committee recently approved my motion to recommend new funding tools to create secondary plans. I’m hopeful this means that the long journey to creating a new neighbourhood secondary plan in St. Boniface is about to show some progress.

Central St. Boniface, for the uninitiated, is bounded by Provencher Boulevard to the north, Marion Street to the south, and Archibald Street to the east. It has a vast diversity of housing types, and many unusual and challenging properties.

Eventually, I envision that Winnipeg can and should create secondary plans in every neighbourhood that is currently or expecting to see infill development.

Thank you to the people of St. Boniface for your ongoing engagement with the city and my office on infill development. I will continue to pursue a proactive and collaborative approach to guiding the change in our community in the most positive direction. Secondary plans for our neighbourhoods are a critical tool we need.

The work continues.

Matt Allard
St. Boniface ward report

Matt Allard is the city councillor for St. Boniface.

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