Ritchot council had a busy night on January 23 with a full house of residents and delegations. Up for discussion were one variation application and four conditional use applications.
A request was made by Darren Rajotte of Northwest Decorating and Sandblasting Ltd. to vary the minimum required side yard distance from 25 feet to zero feet in order to accommodate the expansion of his existing commercial building at 7 Maindu Bay in Grande Pointe. Based on recommendations from Public Works, council agreed that a two-foot allowance should still be maintained. Council voted unanimously to accept a proposal to reduce the side yard requirement from 25 feet to two feet.
The first conditional use hearing addressed an application by Rebecca Hildebrand to allow for the operation of a hair salon at her home at 432 Lucille Bay in St. Adolphe. Council received one letter of support and heard no objections. They voted unanimously in favour of the proposal under specific terms, which include that the applicant make attempts to mitigate traffic congestion in the neighbourhood, remain in full compliance with all home occupation bylaws, and limit her hours to 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Another St. Adolphe application came from resident Maxime Huberdeau, who wishes to develop a secondary basement suite in her home at 92 Gagnon Drive. There were no objections to the request. Council voted unanimously in favour of accepting the proposal under the terms laid out in the zoning bylaws for residential use.
Townhouse Proposal
Numerous residents turned out to speak about the multi-family housing project proposed for the property at 420 Main Street in St. Adolphe, the former location of the community’s personal care home. Ken Tallaire of the River Trail Development Corp. is requesting that council allow for 14 1,200-square-foot units and 16 660-square-foot units geared toward people in the 55+ age bracket.
“The plan has two types of units that will be created,” Chris Goertzen, representative of Tallaire, told council. “Some larger… and some smaller units that will allow for the type of living and rental arrangements for the [seniors] that live in this area.”
The 30 townhouses, as proposed, will be single-storey units to accommodate seniors who don’t want to climb stairs. Each unit would have a nominal backyard, and some would have garages. An aesthetically pleasing model will be used which includes brickwork and other interior and exterior construction materials that provide a quality living space which blends well with the neighbourhood. Because they are rental units, all yard maintenance would be taken care of by the ownership company.
Councillor Mamchuk made Goertzen aware of a fountain on the property that has historical significance in the community and asked that, if possible, it be preserved.
Five residents stepped forward to show support for the proposal, some suggesting that they would be interested in renting such a unit. Two of these residents indicated that they would be in favour of adding a commercial aspect to the development to keep the proposal more in line with Main Street’s needs. Another suggested that it would be unfortunate to saddle the developer with commercial space he can’t lease, since, in this resident’s opinion, St. Adolphe’s proximity to Winnipeg means it will always remain a bedroom community.
The municipality’s former community economic development officer, Lesley Gaudry, submitted an email prior to the meeting. While she is in favour of such a residential development, she listed numerous objections to the proposal as planned. Those included a concern with the number of units being proposed for the size of the lot, which will reduce parking availability and greenspace, the lack of a common area for resident use for social activities, and the lack of commercial space which could provide for amenities that would benefit seniors, such as professional health-related services.
Council addressed some of the concerns shared. They suggested that there is currently enough senior space in the community available for use or rent and see it as imprudent to insist on more when these facilities are already underutilized. Councillor Pelletier suggested that there appears to be more than enough parking in the design, but creating wider parking stalls would be advisable. As for commercial, it was agreed that space could be found should the demand arise.
Council unanimously approved the proposal subject to compliance with a development agreement. The plan is also subject to the approval of a subdivision of the L-shaped lot.
Livestock Operation
The next item on the agenda was the application by Paul Loeppky of Red Plain Farms Ltd. Loeppky’s request was to expand his existing hog livestock operation, located approximately two miles south of Niverville, from the 2,500 animals he currently raises to 5,000 animals.
A Manitoba Municipal Relations (MMR) representative provided council with a technical review on the applicant’s proposal. The representative was able to give council all assurances that the proposal meets with the province’s stringent laws relating to agricultural livestock operations. He indicated that MMR sent out notices of the proposal through various media sources and direct mail. No comments or objections were received.
“We have come with a team from the province who have contributed to the [technical review] report,” the representative told council. “The proponent has given us what we asked for so that we can produce a genuine report… Should council say yes to the proposal, the proponent then has to come back to the province for licensing, for permits, and for other things. So there are other safeguards in play that the proponent would have to meet… We’re actually very highly regulated. In fact, I’ve heard that Manitoba is one of the highest regulated jurisdictions in North America when it comes to livestock operation.”
Loeppky, who lives just north of the farm, told council that the farm began operations in his name in 2003 but the land has been in his family for three generations. His hope is to add another barn to the property, to supplement the barn that exists there now. Bad smells, he says, is part of the nature of a hog operation, but he uses current farming practices that help mitigate the smell as much as possible.
Two residents from neighbouring farms came forward to offer their support for Loeppky’s proposal. No objections were heard or received.
Councillor Claydon shared some concerns about setting a precedent for more hog barns in the area due to the smells they produce. As council debated, they concurred that residents living in an agricultural area should expect farm smells occasionally, just as some Winnipeg residents can expect smells from the Brady landfill or urban factories.
Council approved the proposal by acclamation with the understanding that the MMR is there for support should any details have been missed.
Procedures Bylaw
Finally, council held the second and third readings for the Procedures bylaw. These readings were tabled after the January 8 meeting when resident Robert Doiron addressed council regarding his concerns with amendments made to the bylaw that he felt would significantly reduce council transparency.
These concerns included the elimination of recorded council votes in the minutes, the mayor’s sole authority to deny a delegation the right to address council on the basis of redundancy, as well as a section of the bylaw that provided the option to hold council meetings via the use of electronic devices.
Since that time, bylaw amendments have been reworded or changed to give more clarity to the intent of the bylaw. Mitch Duval, the municipality’s CAO, read through the newly amended sections, which now provide clarification on council’s intent to always hold in-person public meetings. As well, the policy regarding the denial of delegations was returned to its original wording and votes will once again be recorded as they have been in the past.
Doiron addressed council with appreciation for listening and responding to his concerns.
“After careful consideration and consultation with citizens in Ritchot, the mayor and the councillors have brought forward a revised bylaw which I am here to support,” Doiron told council. “The mayor and the councillors should be commended for listening to the citizens of Ritchot and then making those revisions. The changes to the bylaw are important, but just as important to me is that our municipal government was willing to consider input from the citizens.”
