Retiring Reeves Ram Development Plan Through

Manitoba municipalities are required to have a development plan consistent with the Public Land Use Policies regulation under the Planning Act. Following the Whitemouth Plan's first reading June 14, 2010, it was forwarded to the Technical Review Committee (TRC) and a public hearing was held August 16, 2010.

Manitoba government departments and public presenters raised numerous concerns and recommended against second reading. Despite these concerns, the WRPD moved second reading at a Special Meeting held September 24th, 2010. It will now be up to Manitoba Minister of Local Government Ron Lemieux to determine if the Whitemouth Plan will move to third reading and become law.

Andy Pelletier, Councilor for Reynolds, is the only one of four elected officials on the WRPD seeking re-election October 27th. Whitemouth Reeve Glenn Malkoske, Whitemouth Councilor Bill Boonstra, and Reynolds Reeve Donna Shandroski, who all voted in favour of the Whitemouth Plan, are not seeking re-election beyond 2010.

Residents of Seven Sisters, a community located inside Whitemouth RM, formed the Seven Sisters Community Association (SSCA) September 2009 to address issues with the R.M. and Manitoba Hydro. The organization now has 170 members, and is still growing.

SSCA Spokesperson/Secretary Allison Mantrone-Cardinal reported that the SSCA is concerned that the outgoing Reeves and Councilmember, in their haste to get the plan approved, have ignored legitimate issues brought forth by the government and the public — issues that must be addressed before any plan becomes law.

"It is the hope of the SSCA that the matters raised in this letter will cause you to refuse to grant approval to the By-law [Whitemouth Plan] at this time, and until all the aforementioned concerns are addressed along with proper public consultation as per Manitoba's Planning Act guidelines," stated Mantrone-Cardinal in the SSCA's written objection to the Minister. The SSCA hand delivered their objection to the minister, and to the Beausejour planning office October 19, 2010.

Any person who made a representation at the August 16, 2010 hearing may file an objection: c/o Mr. Willian Sawka, Minister of Local Government, Province of Manitoba. Box 50, Beausejour, MB R0E 0C0 by October 20, 2010.

Whitemouth Reynolds Development Plan

Manitoba's Planning Act provides that Manitoba Municipalities "must prepare a development plan for the entire district" that is "generally consistent with provincial land use policies" and subject to periodic review within five years after adoption. Furthermore, the act stipulates that public consultations must be held during the initial drafting of the plan, and again between first and second readings of the Municipal Enactment. Following first reading, the development plan was forwarded to the Technical Review Committee and public hearings for the Whitemouth Plan were scheduled for August 16, 2010.

Manitoba's Planning Act (s. 114.1) requires that the technical review comments must be publicly available more than 30 days before the public hearing. The technical review comments were received: July 27, 2010, from Manitoba Water Stewardship, July 29, 2010, from Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives, August 11, 2010 from Manitoba Conservation August 11, 2010 and lastly from Manitoba Local Government on August 12, 2010. Contrary to the Planning Act, Technical Review Comments were not made available until the evening of the hearing on August 16, 2010.

• Use of inconsistent terminology;
• Use of language from the previous Planning Act, which was replaced in 2006;
• A suggested twenty-year review period, when the act requires a review every five years at minimum;
• Exclusion of provincial parks, wildlife management areas, protected areas and railroads from the Whitemouth Plan maps;
• Inconsistencies with Manitoba's Onsite Wastewater Management Systems Regulation;
• Policies which failed to satisfy the Planning Act and/or Public Land Use Policies (PLUPs).

In the Manitoba town of Seven Sisters, which is inside the RM of Whitemouth, local people frustrated after what they say is years of neglect from Manitoba Hydro and the RM of Whitemouth have mobilized. In the summer of 2009 they formed the Seven Sisters Community Association (SSCA).

The town of Seven Sisters Falls was settled between 1905 and 1927 when Winnipeg Electric began building a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway from the town of Whitemouth to Seven Sisters—all in preparation for the construction of the Seven Sisters hydroelectric dam. The Seven Sisters town site was built by Hydro in the late 1920's when the actual construction of the dam began. Since the dam was automated in the 1970s, houses in the town site were vacated and the school closed. When the SSCA was formed Hydro was threatening to sell the land occupied by the curling and skating rink. Both of these recreational facilities are owned by Hydro but for many years have been operated and maintained by the Seven Sisters Community Club. As more and more workers moved out of the Townsite, the Club played a bigger role in operating the facilities.

"As part of the subdivision plans, the land under the curling and skating rink was divided into lots that were to be sold. Then in Spring 2009, the RM and Manitoba Hydro informed us that the skating rink needed to be torn down. This created an issue because Hydro was never clear with the community club about what they wanted to do," SSCA secretary Allison Mantrone-Cardinal explained.

Section 3.6.2.2 of the Whitemouth Plan lays out a strategy for the RM of Whitemouth to partner with Manitoba Hydro to subdivide, develop and market housing in other surplus Hydro lands located in Seven Sisters.

"Hydro is not in the real estate business and its engineers are not community planners," stated Marc Ruta, SSCA President, during the August 16 public hearing.

According to Section 121 (2) (c) of the Planning Act, Manitoba Hydro is exempt from the regulations and standards imposed on subdivision development. Residents are concerned that Hydro, with the approval of the RM of Whitemouth, was allowed to circumvent the Planning Act in the Hydro Town site subdivision. When most of the residents purchased their homes in the subdivision, sidewalks existed throughout the subdivision. When new water lines were put in, the sidewalks were ripped out and drainage ditches were put in. Contrary to the intent of the Planning Act, development in the subdivision has moved in reverse and the purchasers were not informed the sidewalks would be removed.

In Ruta's statement to the Whitemouth-Reynolds Planning District Board, he stated that it was the SSCA's position that "Manitoba Hydro conform to the spirit and intent of the Manitoba Planning Act and should do so out of moral obligation to those impacted by a development. Failure to do so makes this a public policy issue."

The Municipal Enactment received second reading on September 24, 2010. It is unclear if any changes were made to the plan. Any person who made a representation at the August 16, 2010 hearing may file an objection with the minister by October 20, 2010. The development plan by-law is still subject to ministerial approval before third reading and enactment.