City planners tell councillors to ground residential development near Winnipeg airport

City planners are grounding a request to change land-use rules around CF Polo Park shopping centre in order toallow residential buildings to rise in the Winnipeg retail shopping district.

CadillacFairview, which owns the shopping mall,and Towers Realty approached the City of Winnipeg last year to change the designation of the parcels of Polo Park land that include the mall and the former Canad Inns Stadium site.

Right now, the land is designated as an Airport Vicinity Protection Area (AVPA) a city designation intendedto limitresidential noise complaints near Richardson International Airport.

Cadillac Fairview and Towersmade separate submissions in 2019to amend the AVPA to allow multi-family residential units to rise on the land.

• Developers push for residential component to Polo Park are

In a submission to the city, Cadillac Fairviewcharacterized its proposed Polo Parkdevelopment as similar to a project underwayin the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, though the projection for the Winnipeg site is not quite as dense.

The B.C.project involves 12 residential towers, a central plaza and thousands of parking stalls.

Cadillac Fairviewwould like to add residential housing on its property around the Polo Park mall site, on the north side of Portage Avenue, along St. Matthews and St. James streets and the west side of Empress Street. The company's submission to the city says the Polo Park site is currently "underutilized" and "retail is close to saturation."

In November, council gave a first reading to a bylaw that would allow the land-use change to take place.

Now, city planners want to rescind that reading.

In a new report to city council's Assiniboia community committee, planner Robert Galstonrecommend the city reject the development application altogether, noting the Winnipeg Airports Authority is not in favour of the change.

• Airport opposes residential development at Polo Park

The WAA's concern is that Richardson's status as a 24/7 landing-and-takeoff facility could be threatened or lost. That has happened atairports in other cities.

"We've been able to avoid a lot of that by having a really good planning process in place in the city, where we've restricted the residential area around the airport where noise is going to be a factor,"WAA vice-president Tyler MacAfee said in September.

Meetings held between the airport and developer did not lead to an agreement, Galston wrote in his report.

Cadillac Fairview is disappointed with the city's inflexibility, said Justin Zarnowski, legal counsel forShindico Realty,the developer working with the mall owner on the proposed project.

"We're disappointed that the city isn't willing tobalance the interests of the airport with the interest of developing that site, generating property-tax revenue and allowing it tocontinue to be the most vibrant shopping node in Winnipeg," Zarnowski said Wednesday in an interview.

He said the airports authority did not try to meet the mall owner in the middle.

"Our understanding is the city approached the airport and the airport didn't do anything," he said.

City councillors are not compelled to abide by recommendations from city planners. Couns. Scott Gillingham (St. James), Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) and Janice Lukes (Waverley West) will consider the land-use change at the next Assiniboia community committee meeting, on March 3.

Mayor Brian Bowman declined to comment on the proposal, which hasurbanist aims more density and the transformation of a big-box retail district into something morepedestrian-friendlythat are in line with those of his own administration.

He said he would consider the project on its merits.