NDP get high marks for pledge to overhaul planning appeal process

Westman municipalities are applauding the NDP government’s decision to accept an independent review’s findings that a provincial appeal body was taking too long to make decisions.

Late last month, the provincial government said it will accept all recommendations from a consulting firm’s review of the Planning Amendment Act, which was brought in by the previous Progressive Conservative government.

Leaders in Westman say the process gives too much control to the Municipal Board and takes away power from elected officials who live in the communities they serve.

“Stakeholders were telling us that it was needed,” Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said in an interview late last month.

Simard said the decision by former premier Brian Pallister’s government “handcuffed” municipalities and added “difficulty for municipalities to move forward with their planning.”

“Overall, people are saying the processes need to be sped up, but we have to make sure that it’s done in the responsible way,” Simard, the MLA for Brandon East, said.

The report, written by Braid Solutions Inc., said “while many of the legislation’s objectives have merit, the implementation has fallen short of expectations.”

Braid Solutions conducted the research from March to October 2024 and involved over 250 participants representing more than 95 municipalities, development stakeholders and the public, the report said.

“Stakeholders expressed concerns about the legislation’s complexity, lack of adequate implementation support, and unintended consequences that have, in some cases, exacerbated problems that existed before the legislation was introduced,” the report, which was finalized late last year, said.

Carberry Mayor Ray Muirhead said one example of the legislation’s problems is when someone applies for a subdivision. If the applicant has the correct compliances and has everything in order, the municipality and local planning district should be able to pass it without any problems, but that is no longer happening, he said.

“You have to go through a lot of hoops and hurdles, and then the next thing you know, you’re reaching the expiration date, and you have to reapply possibly, which costs more money,” Muirhead said.

He said the officials in charge of the current process are “running short-handed,” and that the process could “take forever.”

Muirhead said sometimes the board’s decisions are based on comparisons between different municipalities, which is like comparing “apples to oranges.”

“We just want more control, because we feel as towns and municipalities ourselves, we know what’s in the best interest,” he said.

Rural Municipality of Sifton Ward 2 Coun. Scott Phillips said municipalities have proven that they know what’s best for their communities, and that decisions shouldn’t be made by public servants based out of Winnipeg.

“Each municipality has similar issues on whatever, but we’re also different and unique,” Phillips said on Tuesday. “So, we need to have a say in what’s going on. We can’t be dictated.”

He added that the provincial government accepting the findings of the review, and in turn listening to the municipalities, are positive steps.

“The more powers bestowed upon and are trusted in the municipalities, the better off the province is.”

Association of Manitoba Municipalities executive director Denys Volkov said AMM “endorses the review” and commends the province for accepting the findings on what it considers an “unjust process for municipalities.”

“The review, in our eyes, highlights the problems with the process, and we look forward to the implementation plan that the province will release soon.”

Simard said the implementation will be announced later this year when an action plan is released. He wouldn’t say what it will entail.

The largest problems with the legislation, Volkov said, was delays in how long it took the Municipal Board to make decisions. The other problem, was the cost of appeals for municipalities.

“We’ve heard municipalities spend anywhere between 60 to 160,000 dollars on average on appeals outside of Winnipeg,” he said.

“This money can be better spent in communities on events, infrastructure, instead of one lawyer. So this process is costing municipalities more money, and it’s actually delaying development.”

There is also an affordability crunch happening right now, Volkov said, and municipalities “are ready to have more housing built.”

“It’s an impediment to housing construction in our province.”

Volkov said as long as the province sticks to its word and implements the findings of the review, he’s “confident that this would speed up development.”

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said this change doesn’t affect the Wheat City as much as it does smaller municipalities, because the city has its own planners that can do the work smaller communities can’t.

Fawcett also hailed the decision as a positive for the region.

The report also made recommendations on the Capital Planning Region, a plan for municipalities surrounding and including Winnipeg. It entailed “concerns about the balance of authority between a regional planning board and the function of a municipal council to guide development decisions.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com