Neepawa Council rejects boarding house request
- Details
- Published on Friday, December 22, 2017
The meeting room at the Town of Neepawa office was filled to capacity on Tuesday, Dec. 19, as individuals listen to the discussion surrounding a boarding house on Whitmore Crescent. Photo property of Alan Gillies. GEM Media.
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
The final Neepawa Town Council meeting of 2017 proved to be a lively one, as nearly 50 people crammed into the Town Office on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The reason for the capacity crowd was the discussion of a conditional use permit for a boarding house at 8 Whitmore Crescent.
The Tri-mach Group, made the request for a boarding house within an area that is currently zoned a Residential Single “RS” family zone. Tri-mach, a company based out of Ontario, has been hired by HyLife Foods LP to complete some work on the proposed plant expansion announced last year. As part of this project, the company decided to purchase a 1,000 plus square foot house for seven of their employees to live in.
To accommodate that number of people under one roof, some renovations were done to the house, including the construction of additional bedrooms. While Tri-mach did apply for and receive a permit for renovations to the house, it was not the correct type of permit for a project of that scope. In late November, company reps reapplied for a variance to allow for the work and for permission to use the house in that manner. At this stage, however, many neighbouring property owners learned of the request and were opposed to it.
The majority of the opposition brought forward focused on the precedent this could create when it comes to allowing boarding houses in the future. Other commenters brought up concerns on the potential loss of property values in the area and noise and traffic worries. Tri-mach representatives indicated that only two company vehicles would be on the property and that the workers in the home are all family men and would not be an issue when it comes to noise.
Upon hearing both sides of the argument, council voted to reject the conditional use request for a boarding house. The Neepawa and Area Planning District is now compiling the information on that decision and will forward the details of the vote to the property owners in the near future.
Retail cannabis: The Town of Neepawa has voted yes to examining the retail sale of cannabis within the community, though with some reluctance. Earlier this year, the federal government announced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use by July 2018. As part of the decriminalization process, all levels of government have been asked to review, and if required, update their by-laws and policies to deal with the new federal guidelines.
Manitoba municipalities had until Dec. 22, the same day by which prospective retailers must submit proposals, to decide if marijuana sales will be allowed in their communities.
Council approved looking into the requirements, though it was not unanimous. Councillor Bill Stilwell voted against the resolution and Murray Parrott abstained. The item still had enough yes votes to move forward.
Other communities such as Brandon and Portage la Prairie have already approved retail sales, while others, such as the Rural Municipality of Gimli have voted no to allowing the retail sale of pot in their community.
