“The problem with the city, is the City”
Full marks for Walter at One Man Committee for bringing this good-looking apartment development to light, and noting that before it can proceed, it must get permission from the City of Winnipeg, because it is a development below their standards on several fronts. As OMC writes:
“This project requires the developer to get variances for failing to meet the minimum front yard setback requirement, failing to meet the minimum side yard setback requirement, going over the maximum permitted density of 41 units, and providing 32 parking stalls instead of the minimum 54.”
(See Item 3. “Variance - 149-155 Sherbrook Street” under Public Hearings)
Nevermind the century-long precedent of low-rise but dense apartment development in West Broadway. Nevermind the less than 1% vacancy rate. Nevermind any fluffy language about density and strong neighborhoods found in any of the City’s long-term planning documents. Maybe the developer should have tried building a Tim Horton’s Drive-Thru and saved themselves a whole lot of time, money and sanity.
Amazingly, this is only the second-most absurd City of Winnipeg horror story I have heard this week from someone trying to do something in this city’s core.
