“City planning” are two words guaranteed to make your eyes glaze over.

WINNIPEG SUN

But when people find out what those “planners” have in store for them, those eyes blaze with fire.

Case in point was the first public hearing quietly held by the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region board on July 25.

More than 250 people showed up in the summer heat, concerned with the far-reaching proposals in “Plan20-50: A Regional Plan for the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region.”

The WMR is a private corporation made up of Mayor Scott Gillingham and politicians from 17 surrounding rural municipalities and districts — the “Capital Planning Region.”

Winnipeg city planners spoke glowingly in favour of the 30-year plan, which was the first red flag.

The Manitoba Trucking Association pointed out that the plan listed regional transit, park & ride and active transportation as priorities for Metro road access, but not service vehicles, or emergency vehicles, or trucks hauling everything you buy and need.

The WMR policy will “force municipalities to limit direct access to Metro roads.” That would include trucks and other vehicles using a stretch of Pembina Highway from south of the perimeter to St. Norbert, where there’s already homes and established businesses.

A manager of Terracon Builders questioned why “there’s been major changes to the document and there’s been little to no consultation with the stakeholder groups that I’m aware of.”

He explained the proposed land-use policies would drive development costs so high, that the new homes would be unaffordable.

“There’s been a dramatic shift in language, and density targets have been substantially altered. Ambiguity has been introduced in the interpretation and implementation,” he said, mentioning a shift to “net density” housing targets.

“A density manual is referenced in the document but I’m not sure that it’s been made public or created. How can policy be crafted based on a supporting document (that wasn’t tabled)?”

The WMR wants to mandate cramming almost 400 people per acre in Winnipeg, while heavily restricting gas-fueled vehicles and imposing land-density rules that may threaten the rights of property owners.

What’s that mean? Kiss your car goodbye. The bureaucrats will also tell you how big your yard can be, how many multi-family homes must be in every new housing development, and outside of the city, if you can dig a well.

And there are other rural concerns with the WMR scheme. Mayor Peter Truijen of West St. Paul said the new agricultural land policy would mean that farmers “won’t be planting until the end of May/beginning of June,” instead of the beginning of May, the start of the growing season.

Winnipeg accountant Ken Lee spoke in opposition to the planning bylaw, and startled the board when he asked the crowd at the hearing, how many are here to oppose the plan? Damn near everyone in the room stood up.

“Keep to the presentation” provincially-appointed chair Michael Moore said. “This is my presentation,” Lee replied, then continued to challenge the Metro plan point by point.

Noting the plan has so much insider jargon (like “Complete Communities”) that a glossary is included, he asked why the plan states it will “align with the objectives of the UN 2020 sustainable development goals… like, I don’t think that appears in the Planning Act.”

Lee questioned how an unelected board of a private corporation can seek equal authority to the Province, supersede city council, and regulate the lives of Winnipeg residents and businesses.

With Winnipeg having 85% of the regional population but only 1 of 18 WMR board votes — as many as the Village of Dunnator — Lee told the board, “I’m not sure if this is democracy.”

A city spokesman confirmed that City Hall didn’t hold a single public consultation to explain how a regional bylaw would affect us. Meanwhile, the last public hearing is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. in Niverville, which the City also hasn’t told residents about.

“Transparency and openness are core attributes of Plan20-50,” the WMR website says, claiming they engaged a “vast spectrum” for input into the plan including “community advocates and civil society.”

The WMR held a single open house last November — on a weekday — to get input from 750,000 Winnipeggers on the regional plan. I asked what the input was, and how many people attended, but got no response by deadline. I also discovered that board minutes are not available on their website.