Francophone school project to advance at council

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This article was published 04/10/2021 (1830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Groundwork for Brandon’s next school will start to be laid at Brandon City Council tonight.

On the agenda for the first meeting of October is the subdivision of 2210 Maryland Ave., the proposed site for a new K-12 francophone school.

According to a document attached to the agenda for Monday’s council meeting, the owners of that property are asking for it to be rezoned from development reserve land to a mix of educational and institutional, parks and recreation and development reserve zones.

“Approval of this application will enable development of a new K-12 school under the District scolaire francomanitobain (DSFM), while leaving some land for the current property owners,” the document reads.

“The site was the former location of a landscaping company until 2013-14. Since then, the site has mostly been empty except for the fenced area in recent years storing inventory from nearby automobile dealerships. A building that was part of the landscaping business still stands today in the northwest corner of the site.”

The documents also state that the owners told a Planning Commission meeting last month that the project cannot receive funding until the DSFM receives the title for the land.

Because of this, the owners and the city came to an agreement to vote on the subdivision earlier than when the proposed rezoning receives its third reading, as is typical.

The way the subdivision and rezoning processes are being structured will allow for the owners to use land not being used for the school to be used for a future commercial development.

On Jan. 21 this year, Education Minister and Spruce Woods Progressive Conservative MLA Cliff Cullen announced the province’s intent to build several new schools in Winnipeg and Brandon, including this francophone school and another K-8 school.

Brandon’s newest school, Maryland Park School, opened to students the same month as the announcement.

Currently, the closest francophone school to Brandon is École La Source at CFB Shilo. The Brandon School Division also operates three elementary schools and one high school with French immersion programs.

Council will also vote on whether to amend the membership of the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council. A proposed amendment to the bylaw governing the council would see Brandon’s city manager be added as a non-voting member. The council passed a motion recommending the change at its Sept. 23 meeting.

Another bylaw potentially getting tweaked is the city’s parking enforcement rules.

According to an agenda document, the city has seen several residents challenging tickets issued under a part of Schedule A of the rules, which prohibits parking “on crosswalks.”

The change would remove a single word from the bylaw, making it so just the word “crosswalks” is listed.

After receiving a first reading at last Monday’s special meeting of council, second and third readings and final votes will be cast on the subject.

Rounding out the agenda will be news on appointments to the Downtown Wellness and Safety Task Force and a report for the Keystone Centre Committee.

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