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This article was published 11/11/2014 (2140 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A development plan for the Corydon neighbourhood that's been nine years in the making has finally found its way to city hall.

Development of the Corydon-Osborne area plan proposes to create orderly development for a neighbourhood that has often found itself caught between conflicting residential and business interests, even while the friction has resulted in one of the city's most eclectic and thriving neighbourhoods.

"There's no (neighbourhood) plan quite like it in Winnipeg," said Kerniel Aasland, a community-development consultant who has lived in the area since 1996. "I'm not aware of any other neighbourhood that has this level of detail put into a neighbourhood plan."

The area plan, which will be the subject of a public hearing at the City Centre community committee this afternoon, focuses on three themes: transit-oriented development linked to the Osborne Transit Station; maintaining Corydon Avenue as a small-scale "village" development; and improving access to the downtown and the Assiniboine and Red rivers.

'I'm not aware of any other neighbourhood that has this level of detail put into a neighbourhood plan' ‐ Kerniel Aasland, a community-development consultant who has lived in the area since 1996

The development of the plan was mired in controversy in 2012 amid strong opposition from area business owners over concerns an earlier version was anti-development. The area business community forced city hall to restart the planning process.

The finished plan still does not satisfy all of the local business and residential concerns.

"Corydon is a place where people want to be, there's a lot of activities," said Katia Von Stackelberg, executive director of the Corydon Business Improvement Zone. "It's a wonderful little pocket of the city, but by choking the commercial street, you're choking the whole area."

Von Stackelberg said the area BIZ is opposed to the height restrictions imposed on the neighbourhood, arguing they will discourage investment in the neighbourhood and hurt the entire area.

After the public hearing, the plan will be considered by the property and development committee and executive policy committee before going to council for approval.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS City Hall will consider a long-awaited neighbourhood plan for the Corydon-Osborne area.

Area Coun. Jenny Gerbasi said she couldn't comment on the plan at the community committee stage because it's a public hearing.

The plan restricts development along a five-block stretch of Corydon, between Daly and Wentworth streets, to low-density projects with new structures limited to two to four storeys in height; high-density residential highrises are restricted to the east side of Pembina Highway, to take advantage of the transit corridor, and along Wellington Crescent.

New buildings on the west side of Pembina are restricted to three to eight storeys in height.

East and west of the low-density Corydon "village" zone, building heights are restricted to two to six storeys.

Von Stackelberg said it's the density restrictions along Corydon Avenue that upset the local business community. She said businesses should be allowed to construct taller buildings anywhere along Corydon where it's deemed they can get a better return on their investment.

"We're not very happy with what's being proposed right now," Von Steckelberg said. "It's very difficult to attract investment when you have such strict limitations."

Aasland said he doesn't understand the BIZ's preoccupation with the height restrictions, explaining he's not aware of any private development project that comes close to the proposed height limits.

Aasland said he's concerned city planners appear to have eliminated existing zoning controls that would have prevented demolition of several smaller buildings to accommodate construction of a large retail outlet.

"It's just silent in that area," Aasland said. "We don't know if those zoning restrictions have also been eliminated."

Aasland said he's pleased with the plan's emphasis on greater pedestrian and cycling infrastructure but said the plan doesn't commit city hall to construct any such facilities.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca