Winnipeg Free Press
Sunday May 4 2003, p.A1
By Mary Agnes Welch
WINNIPEG'S top urban planners are putting the finishing touches on a plan for a revolutionary new subdivision, one that will foster neighbourliness and environmentally friendly growth.
City council will be asked to approve concept plans for the subdivision, which will be bigger than Brandon, as early as September, city officials said this week.
Coun. Dan Vandal and senior city planner Jacquie East-Ming said preliminary plans are well under way for the state-of-the-art subdivision in what is now known as Waverley West in the city's southwest corner.
The first of more than 13,000 single-family homes, plus apartments, stores and parkland, could appear in late 2005. The neighbourhood will be about the same size geographically as the province's second-largest city, and will be home to 40,000 people within five decades.
Unlike traditional suburbs like Linden Woods, Waverley West will be a so-called "smart development" that puts houses and apartments within walking distance of shops, community centres and parks.
Last week, top urban planners and architects from the city, province and local development firms gathered at the University of Manitoba for a brainstorming session organized by the dean of architecture, David Witty. He said ideas from three concept plans would be gathered into a final report to be delivered to council and the province. The report will highlight some of the progressive ideas Waverley West could embody.
It's envisioned that Waverley West would be more pedestrian-friendly and less car-oriented, meaning garages would be set back on each property or even hidden in back lanes, and plenty of green space would promote neighbour interaction. Fences between properties would be discouraged.
Everything a resident might want -- a coffee, a meal, some groceries, an ice rink, schools, a bus stop -- would be no more than a five-minute walk away. And, amenities should be gathered together, not scattered around the edges of the neighbourhood on busy roads, said landscape architect Michael Scatliff.
"People shouldn't have to drive to Corydon for a decent coffee, or to Bird's Hill to swim," said Scatliff. "There's been no absence of good ideas before now, but there's been an absence of a good model."
The development would also be built around, rather than on top of, the land's natural features. Ravines, creeks and even big trees would be respected rather than paved over, and the land would dictate practicalities like drainage and road placement.
Waverley West may also require a change in the way new developments are financed. Traditionally, the cost of most of the work is covered by the developer, but the city and province may have to rethink who funds what to ensure progressive planning isn't compromised. The 3,000-acre site is located south of Bishop Grandin Boulevard, west of Waverley Street to Brady Road and south to the Perimeter Highway.
The land is currently divvied up among several owners -- the province, the city, the University of Manitoba and developers Ladco Co. Ltd.
Given Winnipeg's slow growth, it could take 50 years before the development is finished, but an average of 260 new houses are expected to be built per year.
Ladco has said the project will generate thousands of jobs, $60 million in property taxes and $2.5 billion in economic activity.
Unlike other neighbourhoods, where developers have drawn up the plans and then petitioned city council for approval, the city, province and developers are all working together on Waverley West before any plans are committed to paper, said East-Ming.
And, if a huge new subdivision is built, it must not cause an exodus of people from the downtown, from aging neighbourhoods or even from other new suburbs, East-Ming said.
That's one of the concerns voiced by Elizabeth Fleming, chairwoman of the Provincial Council of Women's urban and rural issues committee. She wondered if the subdivision wouldn't add to urban sprawl by compromising other developments, infill housing projects or the push to build more downtown condos.
But Vandal said Waverley West will appeal to people who would otherwise buy homes in one of several thriving communities beyond the Perimeter Highway. The early concept drawings and research will likely come before council in September, and then staff will begin the process of amending Plan Winnipeg, the city's land-use blueprint. Waverley West is currently zoned rural, and changing Plan Winnipeg involves about six months of public hearings and debates on several council committees.
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca