Tweak to The Yards plan proposed

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This article was published 14/09/2022 (1346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City council’s City Centre community committee met on Sept. 2 following its break for summer, which began in late June.

The meeting had a runtime just shy of two hours and covered a slate of issues related to development, community groups and events. Representing the three City Centre wards were Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre), Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) and Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

The morning began with a discussion of the master plan for The Yards at Fort Rouge, a project currently in the design phase that would see a strip of land tucked between the Southwest Transitway and the Lord Roberts Community Centre turned into housing.

The committee voted unanimously to continue the discussion with city administration on the developers’ request to rejig the configuration of the already approved dwellings in its plan.

According to the secondary plan amendment, there would be no increase in the number of units, and no variance or rezoning requests would be needed.

The applicant sought to reconfigure 168 dwellings from the south end of the subject side, designated as ‘high-rise development,’ and bump them up to the ‘low-rise’ portion of the north side.

The amendment would allow the number of units on the ‘low-rise development’ site to bloom from 400 to 568 once construction on The Yards at Fort Rouge wraps. Conversely, the ‘high-rise development’ site would decrease from 500 dwelling units to 332.

The reason provided for the amendment is that the change would facilitate the future development of a four-storey, 263-unit apartment on the subject property.

Next, the committee voted to allow a variance and rezoning request for 775 and 777 St. Matthews Ave. The proposed project would have the site consolidated into one property, zone for a residential and commercial mixed-use building. The council report stated that commercial use would be for a personal services building.

The committee voted unanimously in support of Rollins’ motion to drop a $20,000 fee faced by the owner of 157 Scott St., an Osborne Village convenience store that burned down last year in an act of arson that claimed the life of the 60-year-old shopkeeper.

The 157 Scott St. building, which was over 50 years old, was grandfathered in and would no longer be able to exist under current bylaws. Constructing another commercial building would require rezoning and seven variances at a cost of about $20,000.

“Me and my family had been running E-Mart for five years, from 2014 to 2019. If the circumstances were different, I would not be standing here right now,” property owner Hae-Kyung Shin said in her presentation at the Sept. 2 community committee meeting. “Please, from the bottom of our hearts, waive this fee for me and my nephew so we can move forward with our lives.”

The motion moved on to the planning and property committee for approval. Despite support from the City Centre committee, the motion was shot down 2-1 on Sept. 8, with Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) and Coun. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) voting against it.

Videos of all community committee meetings are available on the City of Winnipeg YouTube channel.