Earlier this month, a group of Niverville residents with homes in Fifth Avenue Estates requested an emergency meeting with the Town of Niverville to bring up concerns about property value and traffic along Breckenridge Drive.
Part of their concern revolved around town council previously approving a redesign of 24 lots along Breckenridge, in the process creating 40 smaller lots on that street. That meeting, on April 7, was held at the height of the Province of Manitoba’s stay-at-home public health orders.
This part of Fifth Avenue Estates has resulted in public disputes many times. The developer, Cornell Friesen, has been trying to make changes to the Breckenridge Drive lots for years. Friesen says he hasn’t been able to sell the lots, which are categorized as lakeside walkout lots in the development’s master plan.
How We Got Here
In 2017, Friesen requested permission from council to rezone the lots from single-family dwellings to multi-family. A public hearing was held and council didn’t approve the rezoning due to a public petition against it.
Later in 2017, Friesen requested rezoning the lot sizes to 40 feet from 50 feet. The minimum lot size at the time was 50 feet, so a public hearing again needed to be held. Council voted against that proposal as well.
In 2018, the Town of Niverville conducted a routine zoning review, as is required every five years by law. Provincial engineers were brought in to review lot sizes and traffic. The professional review ultimately made the recommendation to decrease the minimum lot size to 40 feet, thus bringing Niverville in line with other surrounding towns. The review also noted the change would make new development in town more competitive, including the outstanding Fifth Avenue Estates lots.
In December 2018, council held an open house to present the plan to the public. The subsequent town council meeting included a public hearing at which they approved this change.
Thus on April 7, 2020, Friesen submitted a revised subdivision plan, including 40-foot lots along Breckenridge, and council approved the proposal. Revised plans, as opposed to requests for rezoning, don’t require a public hearing as long as no new public road is being created.
Conducting Town Business During COVID-19
Jonathan Schmidtke, who lives across from the empty lots on Claremont Drive, was reviewing town council meeting minutes when he saw the approval pertaining to Breckenridge. He became concerned that council had approved a developer’s plan that so obviously permitted that which residents had been trying for years to prevent.
After speaking with other residents in the area, many of whom had also been against the developer’s changes since the initial rezoning request in 2017, Schmidtke contacted the town. He alleged that the town had held the delegation meeting with the developer at a time when it would be challenging for the public to participate, in the midst of a pandemic, in order to grant rezoning approval with minimal opposition.
Once Schmidtke suggested the residents would involve a lawyer to bring a case against the town, council mobilized to call an emergency meeting on Tuesday, June 9 at 8:30 a.m. to address their concerns.
As representative for the residents of Fifth Avenue, Schmidtke presented their concerns, clarifying that their intent was not to sue, but to ensure the public was made aware of what had happened at the April 7 meeting.
“I want to address Mayor Dyck and town council for accommodating us and allowing us to have a live conversation, to be heard. My intent is not to sue,” said Schmidtke. “My biggest intent is to bring transparency to the issue, that a decision was made out of the public eye, without opportunity to question, without opportunity to rebuttal… that council is moving away from what it told the public.”
Schmidtke said that the town had communicated previously that the issue of waterfront properties had been closed, not to be revisited, and that it was an ethical and moral breach to move away from that position.
“When we were told that Cornell would not be able to change the sizing of the lots… that was misleading,” said Schmidtke. “Changes to approve the 40-foot lots was done in the middle of COVID. I’m an essential services worker and all I read was one line in The Citizen.”
Mayor Myron Dyck, who chaired the June 9 meeting, acknowledged that the spring was a difficult time to conduct town business. While following social distancing guidelines, the town had continued to meet publicly and hold public hearings. Meetings were held at the arena instead of at the Heritage Centre. Public delegations have been permitted to appear in person, with chairs placed six or more feet apart. Delegations have also been received by alternative means, including email.
But Dyck pointed out that because the revised subdivision plan did not require a public hearing, no public notices needed to posted. He also maintained the importance of town business needing to continue during COVID-19.
“Regarding a plan of subdivision, this is something that council deals with on an ongoing basis, if not once a month,” said Dyck. “To Jonathan Schmidtke, I thank him for taking the time and seeking information. We want to be transparent and to work with the public in all instances that affect them. If people would like a better understanding of how these things work, council is very open to having a conversation or having a coffee to help people get the information they require.”
Property Values Concerns
At the emergency meeting, Schmidtke and other residents took the opportunity to review their pre-existing concerns surrounding additional housing being developed on Breckenridge. Schmidtke spent considerable time reviewing how Fifth Avenue Estates homeowners are required to submit to design criteria guidelines to maintain a “well-coordinated subdivision.” The guidelines include specifications on garage sizes, ceiling height, and detail on the front of homes.
“A home that is built on a rundown street will not hold the same value as a home in Tuxedo or Wellington Crescent,” said Schmidtke. “I need to maintain my value [to make sure] the home that I built has that value for other buyers. If you make housing affordable, usually then people who are going after those properties don’t have money to put in things that go along with a brand-new house. It will change the exterior requirement, and you lose detail and things like that. You lose minimum standards… Everybody up to this point had to stick to the original requirements, which seem to be abandoned. Citizens like myself are concerned about their value… We are taxpayers on properties that are worth between $450,000 and $600,000 and up. We pay considerable taxes and that should buy us a voice.”
Schmidtke added that the lots were intended to have homes with walkout basements, homes priced at around $450,000, and he believes this should be maintained.
Traffic Concerns
The group presented a secondary concern: traffic.
“The side streets are already very busy with traffic, so the infrastructure is not planned [to accommodate] an additional 20 houses,” said Schmidtke. “I don’t understand how that road is going to handle traffic.”
Dyck took some time to address these traffic concerns, explaining that the provincial civil engineers had considered traffic volume and flow when reviewing the new zoning bylaws in 2018. These civil engineers had known about the additional lots that would be made possible in both existing and foreseeable developments when they supported the plan to rezone lots to a smaller size.
“Traffic is set by engineers,” said Dyck. “It’s not council that decides on the plan. We always have an extra set of eyes at the provincial level.”
Town CAO Eric King confirmed that a general traffic assessment was done for the entire town in 2018.
“Every part where you could go to from lower density to higher density was evaluated by the planners,” said King. “The planners knew about the 40-foot lots on Breckenridge and gave the go-ahead.”
According to developer Cornell Friesen, who also attended the emergency meeting, the streets in Fifth Avenue Estates are wider than most residential city streets.
“In order to do a zoning change, a public hearing must be held and one was,” said Dyck, who reviewed the procedures surrounding the rezoning. “We’re governed by what is called The Planning Act, which is set by the Province of Manitoba. We went the extra mile and held an open house for everyone in the community at that time. Now on April 7, 2020, it’s construction season… should we have held everything up? We did our best to conduct business amidst COVID, amidst a pandemic.”
Town Responsibility vs. Developer Responsibility
“Some of the things we have to deal with on things like this are facts vs. conjecture,” continued Dyck. “There’s a perception that somehow on these 40-foot lots, that things are going to change. We have been given no indication that the houses that will be built are going to be any different. The design guidelines are a contract between the property owner and the developer. The town is not a part of that agreement. To our understanding, there is no change as to the [quality of the] homes that will be built on Breckenridge.”
Schmidtke again expressed concern for the look and appearance of the neighbourhood. “When you’re starting to look at ‘affordable homes,’” he said, “you’re starting to look at cutting down on detail and size.”
At this point, Cornell Friesen spoke up. “The town approves building permits, that’s what holds me to task,” Friesen replied. “I’m held at task for every single thing that happens in that subdivision. I’ve met all the regulations.”
Schmidtke had additional concerns for Friesen, alleging that the lots hadn’t been offered up for sale at the original price and therefore Friesen couldn’t say for certain that he’d had trouble selling the lots.
Friesen replied that he had never withheld a lot from any interested builder or any individual.
“The sizing of the lots is going down so that the developer can sell the lots so he can develop them,” said Schmidtke. “But I’ve talked to other people who are interested in the lots, but they can’t buy them because the developer is dragging his heels to sell them at our expense.”
Dyck, who lives in Fifth Avenue Estates himself and happens to be a property appraiser with Red River Group, recommended that anyone with concerns about property value contact an appraisal company. He briefly spoke to his expertise in this area, saying that larger properties typically sustain their value next to smaller homes in new developments and that smaller lots are currently more in demand given the present real estate market.
The mayor then redirected the discussion back to the town’s overall strategy for growth.
“There has never before been a hearing where property values have been brought up where the properties have dropped in value,” said Dyck. “We asked developers, ‘What do you need to compete?’ They said they need the smaller lots to compete with Île-des-Chênes and St. Adolphe… If we don’t go with smaller lots, the developers will go to different communities. So government has to be careful that we don’t control business. We’re trying merely to set the table where the developer wants to develop and the homeowner wants to live. We need homeowners just like we need home developers.”
Councillor Nathan Dueck then weighed in. “[Our] responsibility as a town has been filled. Our responsibility to the developer and to our citizens hasn’t changed. The town and its staff have upheld its responsibility. If you have concerns with the developer, then you need to talk to him.”
Fears and Assurances
As the June 9 meeting extended into its second hour, residents’ fears over traffic and the introduction of affordable housing continued—as did their fears over talking to council in general.
“I need to point out that there is a lot of fear from people of reprisal,” said Schmidtke. “Everybody has ties to this council. I’ve talked to people, I’ve talked to contractors, I’ve talked to realtors. I had one realtor that he suspected this would happen. As a man of faith, I like to vote for like-minded people. Mayor, I voted for you. Out of the entire council, I expect higher standards.”
Later Dyck chose to address preconceptions about people’s understandings of the word affordable.
“Maybe we need to throw that word out,” said Dyck. “We’re trying to come to an understanding as to what we have the authority to decide on and what we don’t. We cannot decide things based on emotion or fears. We’re trying to allay those fears here today. We believe that similar homes are going to be built and that the design guidelines and agreement are to be followed. And if they are not, then we will withhold permits.”
Friesen confirmed that the new homes on Breckenridge will not have walkout basements, but they will have large basement windows. They will be smaller than the existing Breckenridge homes, likely priced around $385,000, and the exteriors will be in keeping with the aesthetics of other homes in the development.
“They will be a smaller footprint, but they will be beautiful and the outsides will be all consistent,” said Friesen.
Next Steps
Following the meeting, the town issued a letter to residents explaining that the Fifth Avenue Estates developer is bound under the development agreement signed between himself and the town in 2012.
The letter assured residents that if the developer didn’t operate under the parameters of the development agreement, council had the authority to withhold a building permit.
As to the initial threat of legal action, Schmidtke has since been asked whether he intends to follow up on his initial intent to sue.
“If we had signed something legally and we want to fight this, then I can’t afford to take this on,” Schmidtke says. “The town has clearly said, ‘This is between you and the developer,’ and the papers had been signed. I would love to still get an end to this, but I don’t think that signatures are going to get this changed. It’s not that I’m suing the town, but we are taxpayers, and I want to make sure that council is taking care of us.”
Does Schmidtke plan to pursue a further meeting with the developer? He says that he does.
“The town, I’m thankful that they did make time for me,” Schmidtke says. “If I would say anything to anyone about all this, know what’s happening in your town. Go to the open houses. Get involved.”