Assiniboia committee nixes Apex Street project 2-1

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2022 (185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Assiniboia community committee met on Nov. 21 following a hiatus owing to the municipal election. Newly appointed councillors Shawn Dobson (St. James) and Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) joined Janice Lukes, three-term councillor for the Waverley-West ward, at City Hall.

The committee axed a subdivision and rezoning request to widen Apex Street between Elmhurst Road and Cathcart Street to accommodate seven new detached condominiums, each of which would have had a private roadway. The two-storey buildings were slated to range in size from 2,790 to 3,689 square feet.

This proposal focused on the first of two stages. The second stage would have ushered in six additional detached bare land condominiums, depending on the availability to absorb neighbouring land. The property owners had not come to an agreement at the time of the meeting.

The proposal was met with a kickback from community members. More than two dozen individuals submitted letters of opposition to council, while the proposal garnered one letter of support. Upwards of 300 Winnipeggers signed a petition against the proposal.

Lukes was the sole committee member to vote in favour of the project.

“I really believe that as a city we’re growing, and we need to look to many pockets of our neighbourhoods for development,” Lukes said. “The detached bare land condominium units are representative of a compromise from multi-family, which could be three stories.”

Lukes pointed to the housing crisis and shortage of apartments and condos in Charleswood.

“This is a very good proposal … the developer is willing to pay for the road,” Lukes said.

The applicant has requested the proposal be adjourned until the next Assiniboia community committee meeting.

The committee greenlighted the applicant’s request to keep the existing, newly constructed 9.3-metre concrete approach at 210 Highland Creek Rd., which is 2.8 metres wider than the maximum conforming width.

The council members also approved non-conforming approaches at 6000 and 6004 Furlan Blvd. A community committee council report states the lane behind the project properties is not fully developed and doesn’t allow adequate vehicular access in the winter. The new front approaches will be six metres long and made of concrete.

A non-conforming approach at 267 Marjorie St. was unanimously denied, in concurrence with the public service’s recommendation.

“Most of the street — that whole area, basically — has no front driveways,” Dobson said. “The city generally does not support private approaches when back lane access is available.”

The committee supported approved plans to renovate the commercial building at 201 Scurfield Blvd. Renovations will include installing an elevator and vestibule to improve accessibility.

Following a public hearing, the plan to develop a triangular slice of land at the elbow of Kenaston Boulevard and Centre Street will move ahead. The development will contain a single one-storey commercial building of about 5,000 square feet.

The community committee has laid over its decision until the next meeting on whether to rezone the 13-acre parcel of land at 1301 Kenaston Blvd. to Manufacturing Mixed Use (MMU).

Lukes wants more information on how the area’s traffic flow may be affected by development, though there are no current plans for the lot. The subject site is currently used as a municipal snow dump area.

The Canadian Brewhouse’s request to extend its hours of operation for its license during the FIFA World Cup, which takes place from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, was approved. The brewhouse, located at 1715 Kenaston Blvd., will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The next Assiniboia community committee meeting is Wed., Jan. 4. A video of each meeting is available on the City of Winnipeg’s YouTube channel.