City of Winnipeg property chair wants province to remove 'antidemocratic' powers from government appointees

The City of Winnipeg's property chair is calling on the province to repeal what she calls"antidemocratic" legislation that allowsan unelected provincial board to overturn city council land-use decisions.

In 2021, the province granted additional powers toManitoba's municipal board,a quasi-judicial body that used to spend most of its time settling disputes over property assessments.

The board, made up of people appointed by the Progressive Conservative government, now has the power to reverse Winnipeg city council decisions about a variety of land-use decisions, including those governing developments planned for years in advance.

In October, the municipal board quashed Winnipeg's decision to allow a 199-unit apartment building to rise on Roblin Avenue in Charleswood. That was the first council decision to come before the board afterthe new legislation the Planning Amendment & City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act came into effect.

As a second city decision heads to the board this one governing a proposal for three residential buildings on Shaftesbury Boulevard in Tuxedo city council property chair Sherri Rollins(Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry)is appealing to Premier Heather Stefanson's provincial government to strip the board of its new powers before, Rollins says,lasting damage is done to Winnipeg's economy.

"I definitely feel the chill and it's not just me," said Rollins, who argues the board's ability flip city council decisions creates more uncertainty for developers already suffering from the combined effects of supply-chain disruptions, labour shortagesand high inflation.

"We can't have things in the way of our economic progress as a city or as a province."

Rollinsis among several councillors who complainthe municipal board is less accountable than city council committees, which publishdevelopment proposals no fewer thanfive business days before committee meetings, openmeetings to the public and postlive videoof those meetings to allow residents to watch from anywhere.

After council committee meetings, those videos are posted inperpetuity,along with records of what happened at those meetings.

'Aweird accountability problem': councillor

The municipal board also opens its hearings to the public and publicizes its meetingseven longer in advance no less thantwo weeks before the hearings take place, said Erin Wills, the board's secretary and chief administrative officer.

But the boarddoesn't post video records the way the city does.Most contentiously, it does not communicate itsdecisions to anyone other than the City of Winnipeg, at least not in the short term.

Provincial legislation does not allow the board todivulge itsdecisions until city council passes bylaws about the development in question something council has no choice but to do.

"They are required to make a decision that conforms with the report/recommendation of the municipal board," said Brant Batters, a spokesperson for theProgressive Conservative government.

Rollins said it is uncomfortable for councillorstobe forced to abide by the board's rulings and also communicate those decisions on the board's behalf.

"There's a weird accountability problem thatmakes it just plain antidemocratic," she said,noting the board members don't have to answer to the public because they are not elected.

"We have an unelected, unaccountable body making decisions where their rationale is not communicated."

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said the municipal board ought to be at least as transparent as the city.

"The city makes information about development proposals including reports, hearing dates and decisions easily available to the public. The municipal board should be doing the same," Gillingham said in a statement.

"I've already said I disagreed with the board's decision about 4025 Roblin Blvd. [where the199-unit apartment building was proposed].

"Investors need certainty and the only way that's going to happen is if board decisions are transparent and based on objective criteria."

'An independent body': province

Batters suggested the absence of elected officials on the board makes it free of political influence.

It"was configured to be an independent bodynot influenced by government, municipalities and other stakeholders to review appeals, applications and referrals as quickly as possible," he said in a statement.

He said the board's members "come from all corners of the province" and have a range of skills"applicable to land-use, zoning and planning issues."

The legislation that expanded the board's powers followed a push byformer premier Brian Pallister to exercise more control over city planning decisions.

A review conducted by his government over several weeks in 2019 concluded Winnipeg's planning, property and development department was dysfunctional.

It cited the lack of development at the Parker lands in southwest Winnipeg and the former Canad Inns Stadium site as suffering at the hands of the municipal officials.

The city's disposal of the Parker lands and Canad Inns Stadium site also featured prominently in a city-commissioned audit of major real-estate transactions conducted during the Sam Katz administration.

Former Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman, who succeeded Katz,toldPallisterin 2019if he was serious about improving the development climate in Winnipeg, the province would follow through on city council's request for a provincial inquiry into Winnipeg's construction and real-estate scandals.