The next time I hear someone on city council complain about a lack of multi-family infill housing in Winnipeg and a shortage of taxation revenue, I’m going to remind them of the $6.5-million, 12-unit proposed condo on vacant land in Crescentwood they rejected earlier this month.

When I say “they,” I really mean one member of city council – area Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), who unilaterally kiboshed a perfectly suitable development in his ward at a committee meeting earlier this month.

“We were shocked,” said Tim Comack, vice-president of development at Ventura Land Development Inc., the Winnipeg company that owns the lot. Ventura jumped through all the city’s planning and administrative hoops, including shrinking the size of the proposed structure, to reach a deal with the city’s Urban Planning Division, which recommended the project for approval.

Ventura bought two vacant lots on the corner of McMillan Avenue and Harrow Street – surrounded mostly by single family homes, but right beside a large commercial building and about 50 feet from two apartment blocks on Corydon Avenue – and combined them into one 12,000-square-foot lot. The proposed four-storey condo would be no higher than 45 feet – well below the adjacent commercial building but slightly higher than nearby homes – and would have indoor parking, accessible only through the back lane between McMillan and Corydon.

It’s a beautiful design, actually, and it’s reasonably compatible with the architectural make-up of the community. It’s certainly more complementary than the commercial building next door or the plain-looking, box-style apartments across the street.

And it complies with the city’s Our Winnipeg planning document, including its Complete Communities Direction Strategy.

The company was seeking to rezone the land from single-family to multi-family, a proposed change supported by administration.

“The proposal to rezone this property to ‘RMF-M’ supports a moderate density increase to a mature community and adds to the mix of housing types in the neighbourhood, in alignment with the goals of Complete Communities,” an administrative report that went to a city centre committee meeting on Nov. 8 said.

The development would have added to the density of the community and generated about $80,000 to $100,000 in annual property taxes to city coffers. Right now, the vacant lot produces about $2,000 a year in taxes and has no practical use. Two run-down single family homes on the land were torn down several years ago.

After requesting a number of changes to Ventura’s original design, including shrinking the project from a 24-unit development to a 12-unit one, city planners gave the proposed project the go-ahead earlier this month.

But because city council has an antiquated approval process for re-zoning applications that allows area councillors to unilaterally approve or reject projects, Orlikow – who also happens to be chair of the city’s property, planning and development committee – killed the project. He doesn’t like it. He says it doesn’t suit the neighbourhood and he doesn’t like the fact Ventura consolidated two lots into one. Apparently, he prefers vacant lots instead.

There was no groundswell of opposition to the proposed development. Only three people on the block of about two dozen homes spoke at committee. One was in favour, a family of five that live right beside the vacant lot, and two were opposed.

Despite that, Orlikow – who like many councillors constantly complains about how the city suffers from a revenue shortage – rejected the rezoning application for no sound, evidence-based reason. It’s a move that took Ventura by surprise, especially since the proposed development was given the green light by the city’s Urban Planning Division.

“When bylaws exist that state very clearly that a corner lot on a collector road should be intensified and is ripe for infill development, it’s concerning that a councillor can turn down the very policies the planning department makes decisions on,” Comack told the Winnipeg Sun.

Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) said decisions like Orlikow’s makes it very difficult for the housing industry to promote density in the city.

“This sends a horrible message to infill developers,” said Lukes, who was recently punted from the mayor’s executive policy committee. “It’s very hard to do infill, the margin is very narrow.”

The project isn’t dead yet, though. The re-zoning decision still has to be approved next month by property, planning and development, EPC and council. If the city really wants to expand its tax base and promote greater density, city council should reverse this decision.

Winnipeg can’t afford to turn proposed developments like this down.

tbrodbeck@postmedia.com

Twitter: @tombrodbeck