Post by Yar on Jan 27, 2005 1:34:17 GMT -5
Web Posted | Jan 26 2005 03:23 PM CST
CBC News
City council approves Waverley West
WINNIPEG - Winnipeg city council has given the green light to the massive Waverley West subdivision.
Councillors voted 12 to four in favour of approving an amendment to Plan Winnipeg that will allow the development to proceed.
Plan Winnipeg, the city's master planning document, outlines where new development can take place. Wednesday's change allows the area in southwest Winnipeg, which is currently zoned as farmland, to be rezoned as residential land.
Councillors who voted against the change are:
Harvey Smith of Daniel McIntyre.
Jenny Gerbasi for Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry.
Donald Benham of River Heights-Fort Garry.
Russ Wyatt of Transcona.
Groups opposed to the project – which would see 13,000 homes built in southwest Winnipeg over the next three decades – have raised concerns that Waverley West would create more urban sprawl.
However, proponents say the potential problems were outweighed by concerns that if the city does not provide more building lots in desirable area inside Winnipeg, people who want a new home would move outside city limits.
The councillors who voted in favour of the huge housing development say they recognize there are already problems getting the current population of that area to downtown jobs. However, Mayor Sam Katz says the city has time to put together a workable traffic plan.
"It's not happening all at once. They're going to develop one area, sell it out, then move to another area," he says.
"What amazes me is how many times you've heard people say that tomorrow there's going to be 30,000 people. Well, we know that's not true, but that's the impression that's left. It's going to happen over 20-plus years … if by then we can't address these issues, then there's something wrong with us."
Opponents also worry the rest of the city will subsidize the development's infrastructure, but Mayor Same Katz has promised that taxpayers in other parts of the city will not pay for Waverley West's infrastructure.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Scott Smith still needs to sign off on the development. For the next two weeks, groups or individuals for or against Waverley West can contact him to offer their opinions.
After that, Smith can accept city council's proposal, accept it with conditions, reject it outright, or send it to the Municipal Board for further study. The proposal will then go back to city council for a final vote.
A spokesman for Smith says the province feels Waverley West is a "generally positive" development.