Quote:
This begs the question of what can be done to help spur development in other parts of the city, specifically the city centre?
|
The zoning of properties in the more older, central parts of the city don't reflect what is, on paper, encouraged by city planners. So city plans might envision triplexes on the corner of residential streets, and nice midrise mixed-use buildings on major streets, but to actually build this you need to change the zoning. Changes to the zoning of a property goes to the local councillor for approval via the City of Winnipeg's community committee system. If NIMBYs show up to the public community committee hearing (and they usually do), it's very risky for developers.
Why spend all that money on architectural and landscape drawings, traffic studies, public consultation, rezoning application fees, etc. if there's a good chance it could be turned down because 6-7 boomers show up and scare the local councillor? Better to build in new neighbourhoods.
The provincial government's combined sewer regulations add cost to doing infill in areas of the city where there's combined sewers (which is basically all of Winnipeg's neighbourhoods that were built up pre-1945). This requires developers to pay for a system that offsets additional flows into the combined sewer.