Finally, what appears to be some good news out of Manitoba. Winnipeg in particular needs to accommodate population growth for the first time in a long time. Modernizing the approval process for subdivisions could help meet that demand. Additionally, it should hopefully help take some pressure off of the rental market in Winnipeg, which has a vacancy rate of less than one percent.
Legislation was introduced today to speed up the approval process of applications for one-lot subdivisions, Local Government Minister Ron Lemieux announced today.
“This legislation will help us reduce the initial processing time to about three months from approximately six months, allowing decisions to be made on simple subdivisions more efficiently,” Lemieux said. “This process will also free up valuable staff time to provide more planning advice and support to applicants and planning districts.”
The province says the proposed changes under Bill 22 address several issues such as: requests from the municipalities to reduce the time taken for subdivision approval; freeing up government resources to provide professional planning advice to municipalities and planning districts on development of waste water and drinking water; and the ability to protect resources such as mineral deposits and marshes.
While it’s difficult to judge the legislation by this brief description, it seems to be a move in the right direction.
