Klein promises new rule for infill builds

Winnipeg Votes

KEVIN Klein is promising to repeal “blanket” zoning rules and gather more public input to guide some housing projects, if he’s elected Winnipeg’s next mayor.

A “made-in-Winnipeg” strategy would invite more feedback from neighbours, he said, to help reduce unwanted side effects he linked to some infill builds.

“Residents in Glenwood watched lot splits turn two neighbours into eight and leave sidewalks and boulevards covered in mud,” said Klein Friday, in front of an infill home under construction on Clonard Avenue.

Last year, city council approved sweeping changes to Winnipeg zoning bylaws, which allowed the construction of up to four housing units on a single lot in most residential areas and fourplexes up to 12 metres tall within 800 metres of high-frequency transit stops. The changes aimed to speed up home building by removing the need to complete a city application process and public hearing to get those types of projects approved.

At the time, Mayor Scott Gillingham said the changes would ensure more than $450 million of federal funding flowed to Winnipeg, since the federal government required the significant zoning changes to claim housing, sewage and transit funding.

Klein said the city can now remove some of those types of construction from being designated as “permitted” projects, such as building up to four housing units per residential lot on a mature street. Instead, he would require more of those projects to be considered at public hearings.

“We will require public notice and real opportunity for local input on significant density increases mid-block in mature areas. We will still allow secondary suites, duplexes and carefully designed multi-unit projects that respect setbacks, height, parking and infrastructure limits,” he said.

He promised to accelerate some housing approvals to occur within 30 days, such as single-family homes that meet clear city standards.

“Single-family housing is essential to a vibrant and growing city,” said Klein.

Supporters of last year’s zoning changes credit them for helping attract federal housing funding and thousands of much-needed homes.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, the city’s largest union endorsed Gillingham’s re-election bid.

“We are proud of the work that he’s put in and the years of service that he’s done,” said Patrick Troughton, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500.

As a former member of a neighbourhood action team that Gillingham proposed and implemented, Troughton said staff cross-trained to mow, plow, plant, patch and repair have improved municipal services.

He also welcomed Gillingham’s recent promises to hire more community safety officers and increase evening hours at some suburban library branches, if re-elected, deeming them proof of a commitment to city services and city workers.

“I know if CUPE Local 500 needs anything, he’s just a phone call away,” said Troughton.

By contrast, the union leader claimed in a press release that mayoral candidates Klein and Mike Vogiatzakis are “promising to slash our public services at a time when our city has been making real progress.”