Latest news with #Winnipeggers
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Winnipeg councillors begin hearing on fourplexes, four-storeys zoning changes
Winnipeg councillors began a multi-day hearing on new zoning rules on Monday that would allow up to four units on residential lots across the city. The proposed changes would also allow construction fourplexes up to four storeys high within 800 metres of frequent transit routes. These projects would be permitted without the need for a public hearing, as long as they meet design standards like lot coverage and setbacks. Dozens of people registered to speak at the hearing, roughly evenly split between those in support and those in opposition. The hearing is expected to last multiple days, beginning with supporters like Michael Hems. "I believe that we need to just allow our housing stock to grow in a way that curbs urban sprawl, because to many Winnipeggers out there, they understand our infrastructure is crumbling," he said. Councillors agreed to make the changes to get more than $122 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. Critics say the plan will take away the right of people to have a say on developments. Others argue that the changes will not lead to a significant increase in housing construction, because other factors such as the cost of materials and labour shortages hamper the industry. St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes says city staff have addressed some of his concerns, but not all of them. He and River Heights-Fort Garry Coun. John Orlikow won a vote earlier this year, rescheduling the hearing from March until June, to allow more time for public consultation. "That created, I think, a kind of a spirit of compromise," Mayes told reporters on Monday. "So, it's been respectful so far. We'll see. Tempers will rise at some point, probably mine included. But you know, so far so good, I think." Mayes says he still worries the minimum lot size for fourplexes with no back lane is too small. Mayor Scott Gillingham says the federal government has mandated the changes, and the city needs money for housing. "We have talked publicly and consistently about the fact that I think as of six months ago, the vacancy rate in Manitoba was below two per cent," he said. "It's very difficult to find housing in Winnipeg right now." Gillingham says other federal funding programs like the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund and the Canada Public Transit Fund also make zoning changes a requirement. In total, he says more than $450 million in federal money depends on the city following through on its rezoning commitment. To qualify for the full funding, Winnipeg must issue building permits for 14,000 units by next year. Councillors are expected to vote on the zoning changes later this week, after all delegates have spoken.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Welcome to the neighbourhood — sort of
Opinion As a matter of right. It's a simple sentence that continues to stoke fear among some Winnipeggers. This apprehension is fuelled by a sense that pending zoning amendments will cause serious alteration to Winnipeg's neighbourhoods by allowing, 'as a matter of right,' some forms of multi-family housing to be built in what has otherwise been predominately single-family areas. City council will debate these words next week as it moves to fast-track housing investment tied to the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. Much of the debate will centre on the fourplex and its potential to disrupt the design and character of older neighbourhoods. The debate will raise the spectre that swaths of single-family homes will be demolished and replaced by larger duplex, triplex and fourplexes. This will trigger followup questioning regarding height incompatibility, shadowing on lower properties and certainly traffic concerns. These are legitimate questions property owners have a right to ask. In contrast, the city will argue that 'as a matter of right' does not preclude any proposed project from meeting the highest standard for design. This includes restrictions on what can replace a single-family home, how tall it can be, how much of the lot it can cover and other considerations. The outcome of the debate is not likely to satisfy all perspectives. However, it is critical to point out that these words have also historically limited change to neighbourhood structures, ensuring a neighbourhood can only contain single-family homes. This has resulted in higher density housing, public housing and fourplexes being relegated to only zones that allow such. Furthermore, any application to change or alter zoning in a single-family area often faces a complex path of variances, appeals and hearings to limit the ability of such change. Thus on one side of the debate, the current model gives residents a voice in shaping how neighbourhoods change over time. In contrast, this approach has been used as a discriminatory tool to push what are considered non-conforming uses to the margins of cities and into less desirable locations. On a personal note, I grew up in a fourplex in South Osborne. Our home backed onto a cemetery and faced a busy high school. It was built in 1972 (the year we moved in) during a wave of infill projects intended boost rental properties in Canada throughout the 1970s. Interestingly, the debate over the location of the 1970s rental housing boom focused on the same rhetoric we hear today, namely, yes, we need such housing, but it needs to be located elsewhere. Winnipeg has a very distinct pattern of fourplexes built during the 1970s, often in marginal locations or acting as a buffer on busy streets. For example, in my Fort Rouge area, you see a high number of duplex and fourplexes built near the railyards in Lord Roberts. Incidentally, this is also the location we see infill public housing in the same neighbourhood. Perhaps the thinking was out of sight, out of mind. Additionally, you see the same vintage of fourplex scattered along very busy thoroughfares in many parts of Winnipeg. I often comment that my childhood home was a cookie-cutter fourplex, right down to the colour of the bricks. It is always fun noting twins of my house while driving throughout Winnipeg. What we need to understand in the pending debate is that more housing is desperately needed, including a range of types from single-family to larger multi-unit homes. We also need to understand that the design standards being advanced will offer tools to ensure what is developed proceeds with purpose and control. These tools can also be changed and adjusted as needed. The interesting part of this debate is growing up in a fourplex was no different than the single-family home I live in now. It was simply a place in which my parents, who emigrated out of Italy, found as an affordable way to ensure we had a good upbringing. It took me some time to realize that our 1,100 square feet was distinct from a home that did not share a common wall. Looking back, I think we ended up being good neighbours. My mother, who is 90, remains in the same fourplex we moved into in 1972. Many of the nearby families and others have also been very long-term residents. Perhaps it's time to say 'welcome to the neighbourhood,' more often. Jino Distasio is a professor of urban geography at the University of Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: Perfetti perfection distils the wonder of Winnipeg: A love letter to a city that is often underestimated
Opinion The fear of tumbling down rows of seats from the 300-level of the Canada Life Centre was never more real than the night of the Manitoba Miracle. A moment of genuine Winnipeg history, as forward Cole Perfetti flicked the puck in just under the crossbar with seconds left in the first-ever Game 7 on home ice for the Jets 2.0. The jumping — that frenzied celebratory bedlam — posed a real threat to the safety of all of us, stabilized only by the hugs from friends and strangers in the vicinity. And, perhaps, by the sticky beer that had been tossed in the air only to end up coating the floor. I've never screamed so loud in my life, to the point of feeling completely dizzy. It was sports at its absolute best, but also a moment, upon reflection, indicative of the uniquely Winnipeg lived experience. Amid that opening-round series against the St. Louis Blues and the subsequent clash with the Dallas Stars, despite the Jets finishing the regular season as the NHL's top team and regardless of fans' placards declaring 'We Believe,' a nagging doubt of going all the way persisted. That a city like ours could not possibly achieve such a feat. It felt as if it tapped into the core belief Winnipeggers seem to have, that we are somehow less than — not just in sports, but in many other arenas. Despite heroics by Cole Perfetti (91) and signs touting resolute belief in the Jets' playoff crusade, there was always niggling doubt the city didn't warrant this level of fame. (Fred Greenslade / The Canadian Press files) My parents said it and I know I have too, that you must be from this city in order to love it. A belief that we should reach out and name for the lie it is. Winnipeg is a fabulous city, built on a community that is unlike any I've ever seen. Is it a perfect place? Of course not. But it is a place where you find people who care about each other and get back up after our failures and try to do better. Some readers might recognize my name from past issues of the Free Press. Having been both a regular contributor to this newspaper for years from the streets of the Exchange District and the West End, and a less-frequent contributor when I moved abroad to cover Russia's war in Ukraine, somewhere along the way I set up a base camp in London, England. My most recent return forced an appreciation, perhaps for the first time from an outsider's perspective, of just how special Winnipeg is. And I'm learning the hard way that sometimes, it takes leaving to appreciate the things that matter the most. This spring I came home for a pair of weddings, taking several weeks off work to show my British partner the city that still remains 'home' no matter how long I'm away. We arrived to an overwhelming patina of brown, a city still shaking off the grungy remnants of a long winter. We arrived before the street cleaners emerged, before the lilacs bloomed, before the Beer Can opened its gate. Vapour rises from buildings downtown on a cold morning. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) I apologized to my partner Alex for bringing him here at the worst possible time of year because, I figured, even in the thick of winter when it's -30 C, we could have gone skating down the river or attended Festival du Voyageur. If it was summer, I countered, there would have been an onslaught of festivals from Folklorama to the Fringe, the beer gardens would have all been in top form, and nearby beaches would have called our names. As I ran through the list of my favourite things to do in Winnipeg, none of them would suit in April and early May. And yet, this city still managed to enamour him, and me, with the wonder that is Winnipeg. Playoffs were an obvious boon, stoking a not-often-seen unbridled enthusiasm for the city. And hockey was a new and entertaining sport for a Brit used to the comparative crawling-pace of soccer. (Football, sorry London). But we also watched Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti try standup comedy for the first time as one of the featured performers in the Winnipeg Comedy Festival's pro-am event. Nearly three hours of non-stop laughter, only 20 per cent of which I had to 'subtitle' for the foreigner, as the humour turned self-deprecating for the city I now defend. We spent an hour watching butterflies at The Leaf, and many more walking around The Forks and Garbage Hill, and Kilcona Park, too. I introduced him to the joy of singing with beats up and the car windows down, a simple pleasure I've long taken for granted. But he doesn't even have a driver's licence. In London, why would you? Smokies lit up the grill for catch-ups with some of the best friends the world has to offer. We ate our way through the finest restaurants in town and settled down with family for Alex's first experience of s'mores around a backyard fire. (Before the fire ban took effect — safety first.) I didn't offer him a rose-coloured view. I took him to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and talked about the struggles we face with our colonial legacies. We walked past homeless encampments and he saw the North End, too. An imperfect place, with so much work to be done. But what city isn't? On the grounds of the legislature on a sunny afternoon, a family from Hamilton told us how much fun they were having visiting Winnipeg for the first time. And it surprised me, I'm embarrassed to say — despite the fact I was having a blast showing off same city. But that's just because I'm from here, right? Evening fun on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature. (Mike Sudoma / Free Press files) Through the years I've left for different parts of Canada, only to return time and time again, drawn back to this place. Not out of necessity, but out of a deep and enduring love that only finds new facets the more of the world I see, the more I learn about the quirks of other cities not only across Canada, but around the world. I was reading the other day an interview with Perfetti about the Manitoba Miracle. He said he couldn't remember the moment surrounding his buzzer-beating goal, and that he blacked out from the excitement amid the roar of the crowd. I just want to say the rest of us will remember it forever. A moment of absolute perfection that embodied just one part of what makes me love this city so much. Now, I wake in London to my partner relaying NHL playoff scores and highlights from games played in the wee hours of the morning, at least in our time zone. Winnipeg has clearly left an impression. And it hardly matters that the Jets couldn't top the Stars. Or that the leaves weren't out to greet us. It is a place and community that always punches above its weight. I am fortunate to have so much love in my life that I can claim to have two homes. But it feels so bittersweet leaving, saying goodbye when the time is never long enough.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
To the margins of our rivers, our marginalized
Opinion When my kids were younger, during pre-COVID times, I used to put little life-jackets on them and we'd head from West Broadway down to the little park beside the Granite Curling Club, fishing rods in hand. We'd pack some snacks — toddler-friendly Goldfish crackers and blueberries each in their own little containers. The river access at the park is on a gentle slope and there's a little bare area of hard clay that's perfect for casting from the shore, with perfectly placed deadfall providing a place to sit. Even though we live in one of the lowest-income areas of the city, it felt like we had some kind of cheat code to have this little bit of nature so close by. There's a little trail too, winding along the river to the Osborne Bridge and meeting up with the Assiniboine River Walk on the other side. We could stroll all the way to The Forks without seeing a car, and often did. But the riverbank by the Granite hasn't been suitable for this kind of outing for years. Currently, it's occupied by a revolving cast of Winnipeggers who call it home, and has been since before the pandemic. The ground is strewn with used syringes and garbage, and it's just not a safe fishing spot any more. A large encampment along the embankment of the Assiniboine River at the end of Spence Street off of Balmoral Street. (Mike Deal / Free Press) The river, of course, has always been our lifeblood here on the Prairies. Many of our ancestors, if they didn't come by rail, came by canoe or riverboat, following the promise of our waterways to provide a more comfortable life. The rivers have been our sustenance and our playground and our highway. A place to ski and skate, to fish and paddle and swim, before we ruined that, too, with billions of litres of raw sewage. But we still want to be near the water, we still pay premium rent to get the apartment that overlooks it. I helped a Toronto friend buy a small riverfront home in our Glenelm neighbourhood during the pandemic and watched as he was comically left speechless when the real estate agent suggested that here, he could own a speedboat and take his family to the beach for the day. This kind of lifestyle simply does not exist for the middle class in Toronto. The rivers still provide a refuge for those seeking the most minimal of comforts. The areas between the road and the water are shady and out of the way of regular foot traffic. They're areas like our fishing spot: cool, comfortable and somewhat removed from the complications of city life. So it's not surprising that in these not-quite-public spaces on the margins of the rivers live the marginalized, the people not quite suited, for whatever reason, to a life away from its shores. When General Garnet Wolseley arrived to depose Métis leader Louis Riel in 1870, he didn't get the fight he'd been anticipating. Instead, he and his 1,000 tired and angry men, having made the roadless overland journey by foot from Ottawa, took out their frustrations on the Métis citizens, scattering many of them across the province and westward into Saskatchewan and Alberta. There, they made their homes on land surveyed for roads, running between the straight square-mile plots laid down for settlement and agriculture. They earned the name 'the road allowance people' — not quite in society, not quite out, but living quite literally on the margins of colonization, with little provision made for them in the planning of the society that would take root on their homeland. It's sad to think we haven't changed much. We still fail to provide for people who run afoul of a system we designed for them to run afoul of. We fail to anticipate the needs of people who have nowhere else to go and act proactively to provide landing pads and off-ramps before they reach the very bottom rungs of society. We fail to recognize the patterns of oppression that have brought them to live life on the margins of rivers we've nearly ruined with disease and disregard, and we act without compassion and responsibility when we discuss them. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. The smoke rising from the riverbanks of late is a cry for help not only from the people who live along them but also from the land itself. The rivers belong to all of us, and we belong to them. We need to listen to what they're telling us, and act in a way that conveys respect and dignity for those that rely on them: all of us. Rebecca Chambers Rebecca explores what it means to be a Winnipegger by layering experiences and reactions to current events upon our unique and sometimes contentious history and culture. Her column appears alternating Saturdays. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
5 days ago
- Business
- Global News
Manitoba pledges $2.5 million to Place of Pride in downtown Winnipeg
The Manitoba government is kicking off Pride month by investing in affordable housing for LGBTQ2 Winnipeggers. Premier Wab Kinew and families minister Nahanni Fontaine announced $2.5 million in funding to Place of Pride in downtown Winnipeg, which houses 30 seniors and offers space for programming and events. This latest round of funding — which is intended to go toward a kitchen, an arts hub, a rooftop patio, and other common spaces — brings the province's total investment in the space to $5.5 million. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'All Manitobans deserve a place where they feel safe and welcome, which is why this investment greatly benefits the seniors and community members who access the space,' Kinew said. Rainbow Resource Centre's executive director said Place of Pride is the culmination of decades of work toward a permanent site for members of the community. Story continues below advertisement 'Place of Pride is a centre for every kind of activity, from support groups and community feasts to educational programs, celebrations, memorial services and art exhibitions.'
