Open house held to shape future of the Neepawa area
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, November 1, 2016
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
The Neepawa Press/Neepawa Banner
Last week, Neepawa and area residents had the chance to voice their thoughts on the community’s future. On Oct. 27, the Neepawa and Area Planning District (NAPD) hosted an open house and visioning workshop as part of their development plan review process. The new plan will apply to all three NAPD partner municipalities: the Town of Neepawa, the RM of Rosedale and the Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne.
A development plan sets out what kind of development is allowed in all areas of a municipality and is the framework that guides municipal zoning and building bylaws as well. NAPD’s current development plan is not only due for a review, but the area served by the planning district has also changed with municipal amalgamations. Jeff Braun, NAPD’s development officer and building inspector, explains that the NAPD wants to have consistency across the entire area they cover.
The development plan review is being conducted with the help of planners from WSP/MMM Group and senior planner Bryan Ward was one of the company’s staff on hand to answer questions at the open house and visioning workshop. The open house was the second of five steps in the development plan review process.
Talking about the open house, Ward explains, “We’re here to hear [residents’] visions, their concerns and issues.” The change in boundaries means in some ways, the review will result in big changes. “There will definitely be major changes because of the boundary changes,” explained Ward, adding that not only is the former municipality of Glenella now part of NAPD, the former municipality of Langford is no longer part of the Neepawa-based planning district. These changes mean that much of the existing development plan that applies to the area surrounding Neepawa, including Lake Irwin, are no longer part of NAPD’s scope, as they now fall in the RM of North Cypress-Langford.
Beyond the boundary changes, Ward doesn’t expect there to be many major changes, characterizing it as more of a review than a redesign. He added that the updated plan will also include any updates to the provincial development plan that have come into effect since Neepawa’s plan was last updated in 2008.
Currently, the vision for the Rural Area of the NAPD is to preserve existing agricultural lands and protect them from encroachment, fragmentation and land use conflict. On the other hand, the vision for the Urban Area of the NAPD (Neepawa) is to preserve, infill and enhance currently designated areas before expanding into areas designated as “Reserve Lands”.
In the rural areas, many of the questions focused on livestock operations, including where their development should be directed, what kind of separation distances should be in place and how operations should be protected from encroachment, fragmentation or conflict.
When it comes to rural residential development, questions focused on whether there is demand for rural residential or cottage development and where it should be encouraged within the region.
Within the Town of Neepawa, questions focused on what types of housing people would like to see and where that development should occur. The questions also asked participants for their experiences with finding housing in Neepawa.
Within the town, there were also questions about commercial and industrial development.
Those questions focused on what type of development people would like to see and where it should be located. They asked what kind of development shouldn’t be allowed within the Town. Participants were also asked whether the Town should be stimulating commercial development within the downtown area, also known as the central business district.
Regional transportation is also an important part of planning and participants were asked about what type of transportation they used most often, specific issues they faced with transportation and whether decommissioned rail lines presented any challenges or opportunities.
The environment is an area of concern to many residents and participants were asked whether there are any specific areas within the NAPD where development should be restricted to enhance environmental protection. They were also asked about issues related to water quality, soil conditions, drainage or any other environmental problem areas, as well as the impact of any previously undertaken environmental initiatives.
Participants were also asked about the provision of utilities to residents within the Town of Neepawa and the villages within the partner municipalities, as well as recreational facilities and open spaces.
Anyone who would like more information about the development planning process can contact Braun directly at (204) 476-3277.
