Residential Infill Strategy

June 24, 2021 - Council approves guidelines

June 2, 2021 - On April 19, 2021, the Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage and Downtown Development laid the matter over for 60 days.

The revised design guidelines will be considered by the Standing Policy Committee on Planning and Property Development (SPC-PD) on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. If you would like to appear as a delegation, please contact the City Clerk's Department by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 7, 2021.

April 13, 2021 - Feedback received on the draft Guidelines and how the feedback was considered can be found in the Infill Design Guidelines: Round 2 Public Engagement Summary and appendices.

The revised design guidelines will be considered by the Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage, and Downtown Development on Monday, April 19, 2021. If you would like to appear as a delegation, please contact the City Clerk's Department by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 16, 2021. For information on the engagement process, please visit the 'Engage' tab.

October 23, 2020 - Thank you to all those who provided feedback on the draft Guidelines. Online surveys were accepted until Thursday, October 22. We received feedback through 778 online surveys. Feedback is currently being considered and a summary of the engagement process will be posted online.

September 28, 2020 - Winnipeg has been elevated to Restricted (orange) in the Province of Manitoba's Pandemic Response System. In response, the City is cancelling in-person public engagement events. All those who are registered for in-person events for the Infill Guidelines will be notified.

If you are interested in learning more about the Guidelines and discussing with the project team, please consider attending a virtual event. Three virtual events have been added. Please provide feedback by completing the online survey until October 22. More information on the 'Engage' tab.

September 17, 2020 - Feedback received from the first round of open houses has been analyzed, and is summarized in Infill Design Guidelines: Round 1 Public Engagement Summary.

This feedback has been used to develop the draft Small-Scale Residential Development Guidelines for Mature Communities (Guidelines), which are now available on the 'Documents' tab of this website.

The City of Winnipeg is now collecting feedback on the draft Guidelines. Please visit the 'Engage' tab on this website for further details.

October 11, 2019 - Thank you to over 2,000 residents who participated in the first round of engagement on the residential infill design guidelines and intensification criteria. The feedback received will be analyzed and a public engagement summary of what we heard will be made publicly available and sent to all those who have subscribed for updates.

Stakeholders and members of the public provided feedback that will be used along with Winnipeg data, a cross-jurisdictional scan, and research to guide the location and design of residential infill development in established neighbourhoods. Preliminary design guidelines and intensification criteria are expected for public feedback in winter 2020.

Infill Design Guidelines Round 2
The engagement process for the Small-Scale Residential Development Guidelines for Mature Communities is now complete. Feedback received on the draft Guidelines can be found in the Infill Design Guidelines: Round 2 Public Engagement Summary and appendices. Records of the questions asked during our online discussion sessions, and answers to them, have also been posted to the 'Documents' tab.

Infill Design Guidelines Round 1
Building on the priorities identified in the Residential Infill Strategy's Implementation Action Plan, the City asked for public input on residential infill design guidelines and intensification criteria to help ensure that new development in Mature Communities is compatible in form, scale, and design, and to help determine when and where density changes should occur on residential streets.

Thank you to all who attended the public open houses from September 24 to October 3, 2019 and filled out our survey. Approximately 300 people attended the open houses, and over 1,988 surveys were submitted (126 in person). The feedback received has been analyzed and is summarized in Infill Design Guidelines: Round 1 Public Engagement Summary.

Feedback received from the first round of open houses held in fall 2019can be found in the Infill Design Guidelines: Round 1 Public Engagement Summary. This feedback was used to develop the draft Small-Scale Residential Development Guidelines for Mature Communities (Guidelines),  available on the 'Documents' tab of this website.

These Guidelines seek to build on the opportunities infill housing provides, while addressing the questions and concerns raised by residents, builders, developers, designers, and City staff who work with new residential development in Mature Communities. This document reflects a wide variety of community input and addresses the following key considerations:

• Building massing (i.e., the building’s structure or three-dimensional form), including lot coverage and building heights;
• Building setbacks (i.e., how far back the building is set from the edge of its lot);
• Landscaping;
• Vehicle access and parking;
• Separation distances;
• Façade materials and building design;
• Main floor height;
• Projections into setbacks (i.e., how far a building can extend or project into a setback area
• Privacy; and
• Utilities, servicing, and mechanical.

By addressing these key considerations, the Guidelines will help ensure that new development within our Mature Communities adds to, rather than detracts from, the character of the neighbourhood and street.

Previous Engagement – Residential Infill Strategy

Phase 1
To begin defining the main challenges and opportunities presented by small scale residential infill housing, stakeholders were invited to five focus group meetings between June 14 and June 22, 2017. A stakeholder workshop was held on June 29, 2017 to determine key issues to focus on in developing the residential infill strategy. An online survey followed to collect further public feedback, from October 3 to December 1, 2017.

Information collected to this point was summarized in Public Engagement Summary 1.

Phase 2
Information from Phase 1 was then presented at public workshops on January 27 and 31, 2018. The input provided at the workshops held on January 27 and 31 refined the list of key issues, based on public priorities and the perceived complexity of implementing them. Feedback from the public priorities workshops is summarized in Public Engagement Summary 2.

Phase 3
Building on what was learned through previous engagement activities, a public open house was held on September 19, 2018 at the Millennium Library. This open house focused on presenting the Residential Infill Strategy Action Plan, and gathered feedback on each of the proposed actions. In addition to hosting the public event, the draft implementation action plan was also presented through an online survey, which was open from September 6 to 26, 2018. Feedback from the open house and online survey was used to refine and re-prioritize the draft implementation plan actions. A summary of this feedback is available in Public Engagement Summary 3. The recommendations of the Implementation action plan were presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development, Heritage, and Downtown Development on Monday, January 7, 2019, which included the opportunity for members of the public to appear as a delegation before the committee.

To stay up to date on this project, please sign up for email project updates.
If you no longer wish to receive project updates, you may unsubscribe.

Timeline

On December 5, 2016, City Council directed the Public Service to prepare a residential infill strategy to include:

1. A policy framework to encourage residential infill development;
2. Planning and design guidelines for residential infill; and,
3. A residential infill communications strategy to share information clearly and widely with builders and residents.

Based on the latest population forecasts prepared by the Conference Board of Canada, the City of Winnipeg is expected to grow by more than 200,000 people by 2040. While the greatest percentage of residential growth continues to occur in emerging neighbourhoods at the edge of the city, many new residential units built over the last five years have been located within established neighbourhoods. Market demand for new units in many existing neighbourhoods continues to remain high for the foreseeable future.

Infill housing is desirable because it makes efficient use of existing services. Established neighbourhoods already have infrastructure in place, are typically well-served by transit, and are conducive to cycling and walking, meaning less congestion and less wear and tear on our arterial roadways. This is why infill is an important tool in addressing our infrastructure deficit.

Despite its benefits, infill development can sometimes be a source of tension and conflict. A number of recent infill proposals in Winnipeg have demonstrated a lack of consensus on how and where different forms of infill should occur. Many cities have guidelines or policies around infill housing. Winnipeg currently does not have a comprehensive city-wide infill strategy to serve as a blueprint for development.  

Open all | Close all

Map

Map