Niverville’s town council met on the evening of Tuesday, July 21 to discuss a number of items on the town’s agenda and hear from several delegations.
Zoning Bylaw Amendments
The first item up for discussion was a series of proposed amendments to the town’s zoning bylaw. The first reading of these amendments took place at the previous council meeting in June. This time around, they were given the second and third reading.
Mayor Myron Dyck explained that there are two areas of change being considered.
“We did a rezoning bylaw change back in 2018, and we’re constantly going back to that,” said Mayor Myron Dyck. “The province had pointed out to us that we actually had conflicting messaging when it came to row-housing when it came to lot width, where one said one thing with one number, and another said another thing with a different number, and it wasn’t consistent. So part of what we’re trying to do right now is to make the entire zoning bylaw consistent.”
Dyck noted that the second proposed amendment concerns the use of caretaking suites in business in the Niverville Industrial Park.
“We have a request in our industrial park for someone who wanted to build a business but also wanted to have a caretaking suite,” he said. “Essentially that would be a small area where someone could stay… this is new. So it’s something that council will be considering.”
A caretaker’s resident will be defined in the zoning bylaw as a secondary use located in an existing primary building on a non-residential property, occupied by the owner/operator, or a site watchperson or caretaker who oversees or guards the operation.
Council voted unanimously to approve the amendments.
RuffMutts Dog Run
Since moving to their new retail location earlier this year, RuffMutts has requested from council to allow the addition of an outdoor dog run.
“I think the most important thing is RuffMutts and the town, we have the same things we want to make sure we do, and that’s not to be an annoyance to any neighbours or do anything that’s going to be disturbing the neighbours,” said Guy Britten, who owns RuffMutts along with his wife Amanda. “RuffMutts has traditionally done that since it’s been up and running and we don’t foresee any problems now.”
Britten explained that he had been in contact with all his neighbours, and none of them expressed concerns with the proposed dog run. One of those neighbours, Carl Fast, appeared at the council meeting in support.
“I have a letter of agreement [with the neighbours] that goes above and beyond what the town has mandated,” Britten added. “That’s a living thing, so if we ever find that despite the more stringent measures I’m choosing to put in place are not working, and people have issues, we’ll change it and address it.”
The request was unanimously approved, with a few conditions—namely, the yard must not generate noxious smells or noises, it must not be in use between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and the area must be enclosed by a seven-foot fence and have a partial roof to dampen noise.
Talk to the Tail Dog Run
Talk to the Tail, a new dog daycare business owned by Sara Matwychuk, is currently completing renovations to their property at 86 Main Street with an eye towards a fall opening. As part of that process, they are constructing a dog run of their own.
Six weeks ago, the town had requested that the owner of the property erect an eight-foot fence around the dog run, as opposed to a seven-foot fence, due to its location on Main Street. Council now had to approve this self-requested variance, and they did so unanimously.
Main Street Signage
At a previous meeting, council discussed a request by Co-op to add an additional sign in front of their business. At the time, Councillor Chris Wiebe questioned why so much signage is allowed for a business that already has a prominent location on Main Street, giving them built-in exposure.
Co-op has extensive outdoor signage, and council decided at the time that the signs were excessive but that a precedent had been set. So while the request for a new sign was denied, the other signs were allowed to stay—minus one mobile sign that Co-op currently uses to advertise monthly sales.
Unfortunately, there had a miscommunication about the timing of the previous meeting, and Co-op owners Pete and Rose Friesen had been unable to be part of that public hearing.
The Friesens now requested that they be able to retain the mobile sign. They said this sign is especially critical for their business, since it’s effective at generating sales—particularly for their restaurant, a part of the business that has suffered in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a very big driver for our sales,” said Pete Friesen. “The other signs tend to be more of a background, but this one is changed every month. It becomes very noticeable and people look for it… The other [signs] don’t have the same impact.”
“The challenge that council has is trying to maintain a balance between providing businesses with the opportunity, as you have said, to drive your business, versus keeping a Main Street in a growing community such that it will still be appealing to our business community,” Mayor Dyck responded. “So on the one hand we’ve been spending money on trees and sidewalks to try and enhance that. So it’s not about trying to diminish business. However, as we grow, we need to corral this [signage] somehow that’s going to go on the Main Street. To your credit, you guys have always run a top-shelf type of business. It’s neat, it’s tidy, it’s organized. On the other hand, you do have a lot of signage.”
As part of council’s continued discussion on this issue, Councillor Nathan Dueck pointed to a document from November 2018 that was written in consultation with the Chamber of Commerce.
That document recommended that local businesses with mobile signs be allowed to have them grandfathered in for a period of three years, after which the signage would need to be decreased.
“I would look like at it possibly as an apology,” said Dueck. “I probably would at this point vote to accept [this request], based on the Chamber’s recommendation… We may have overstepped our boundaries on this. We have to respect the Chamber, their executive and their membership, and the amount of work that they put into that document.”
Councillor Wiebe agreed. “I don’t want to see one business be singled out. I think this has to be done as a whole community, instead of one-offs. And if 2022 is the date, then it gives us time to get everybody on side.”
The Friesens’ request to keep their mobile sign for the time being was approved unanimously.
One-Way Traffic on Arena Road
Council has decided to change the flow of traffic along Arena Road, making it a one-way street with traffic moving north from Main Street. Arena Road is currently in the process of being reconstructed, and the change will take effect when the street reopens. New signage will be erected to advise motorists of the change.
Mayor Dyck noted that this change to traffic flow was recommended by Manitoba Infrastructure at the time when the high school and CRRC projects were in the design phase. He noted that this is in keeping with the current trend of lessening access to provincial highways.
“[Manitoba Infrastructure] saw that when people on a busy day would try and make a left turn and there’s a train, the traffic got backed up on Main Street westbound,” Dyck said. “And then traffic could be backed up going towards the arena… It just makes for a real bottleneck and it is a safety concern.”
For now, Arena Road will be the only street to become one-way, but the master plan for this part of the community also calls for Centre Street to become one-way, moving west. This will drive more traffic to the corner of Main Street and Krahn Road, which will see the construction of lights or a roundabout.
Other Business
Council approved $21,800, plus applicable taxes, be spent to complete the CRRC parking lot. These additional costs are the result of a change of scope to the project, which increased the amount of engineering that needed to be done by WSP.
First reading was done on a zoning amendment to portions of The Highlands, where the developer intends to move forward with a mix of low-, medium-, and high-density housing. At its next meeting, council will hold a public meeting to allow residents to weigh in on these plans.
Finally, a series of new street lights will be built on Aberdeen Drive and Murcar Street.