Gimli council approved an application for secondary suites in a residential housing development on Solvin Road in Gimli’s Vesturland neighbourhood.
Council held a public hearing Nov. 13 to consider a request from developer Preet Sandhu of Gateway Projects for the creation of two basement suites in each of the eight duplexes that are currently under construction. Each basement suite would be approximately 530 square feet.
A secondary suite is a self-contained unit with its own access, cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities which are separate from and not shared with the main dwelling. They may be located on any storey of the dwelling. They can also be an addition to the principal residence, a ground-level suite detached from the residence or a suite above a detached garage.
Gateway Projects’ proposal states that six vehicles can “easily fit” in each driveway (per home).
Coun. Richard Petrowski said council approved the application as it will bring more housing options to the community. And province is recommending that secondary suites be allowed as long as they’re up to code.
“The province is recommending that municipalities approve these kinds of developments because of the housing crisis,” said Petrowski. “We are short of housing. Whenever somebody wants to give us an opportunity to have more affordable housing, we should take it as long as it fits. This is a residential area; and it fits in my view.”
Petrowski said there were no objectors to the development present at the public hearing – two people showed up in favour of it – and no objection letters had been sent to the RM.
Other council news:
- Council passed a resolution (2024-464) during its Oct. 30 special meeting to spend $30,000 plus applicable taxes on a pump and other items for the Gimli Fire Department’s new well. The pump will be supplied by Friesen Drilling. The items include a Boshart 8-inch stainless-steel full spool pitless unit and submersible electric pump/motor Franklin Electric 10HP 230V 3PH.
“The fire department needed a new well because the old one was leaking and it turned out they couldn’t use the old pump, so we have to buy a new pump,” said Petrowski. “The fire department wanted this done before it got cold, otherwise they’d have to use fire hydrants in the winter [to fill the pumper truck].”
- The Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee noted that its presentation to council on its 2025 interpretive signage project was well received and council is in full support of the project. The RM will now apply for a federal government Legacy Grant to help cover costs.
“The committee plans to apply for the Historic Resources Grant as well. At this time the committee will proceed with a planned budget of $24,000. The project budget may expand if other contributions are secured. The committee will engage with Dr. Ryan Eyford to move forward with finalizing content of the panels for historical accuracy within our planned budget,” states MHAC’s minutes from its Sept. 17 meeting.
- The RM bylaw officer’s report noted offroad vehicle (ORV) complaints being made over the course of October, but the officer determined there were “no issues found.”
Complaints were made on Oct. 4, 12, 19 and 30. On Oct. 12 the officer wrote that there was a “complaint about ORV and a patrol was done. Writer did notice several off-road vehicles, but none were being ran in a dangerous matter.”
The officer doesn’t state where the ORVs were operating.
The Rail Trail north of Gimli is off limits to ORVs. Council is in the process of hiring a consultant to put together a master plan for all the trails in the municipality.
- The RM’s municipal emergency coordinator Don Emes noted in his October report to council that he is continuing to address responses to and operational capacity (reception centres, backup power units etc.) for emergencies and updating emergency plans. He recently attended a regional [provincial government] Emergency Measures Organization meeting in Stonewall.
Emes is continuing to seek funding opportunities for a combined heating, cooling and clean-air centre in the RM of Gimli in the event of severe wildfire smoke events or extreme temperatures. The centre would be able to house hundreds of people.
- Council was planning to discuss the potential sale of a lot in the Gimli Industrial Park on Anson Road, but ended up removing the item from its Nov. 13 agenda.
“It was removed from the agenda because council needed more information,” said assistant chief administrative officer Kelly Cosgrove.
- Council appended a public hearing notice from the RM of Rockwood regarding a new mine development that is in the vicinity of neighbouring municipalities. Rockwood will be holding a public hearing to consider rezoning an area of land in order to support the proposed mine.
The notices states that the purpose of the hearing is to “re-zone Pt. NE ¼ 8-14-2 EPM from MEH, Industrial Extractive Holding Zone, to ME, Industrial Extractive Zone, to support aggregate extraction.”
Coun. Petrowski said such notices are shared by neighbouring municipalities when they fit certain criteria. The border of Gimli meets with Armstrong, St. Andrews and Rockwood.
“These notices will come to us even though we have nothing to do with it. It’s courtesy information for us,” he said.
Rockwood’s public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. in Rockwood council chambers at 285 Main Street in Stonewall.
A copy of the above proposal and supporting material may be inspected ahead of time. For more information on the proposed mine, contact Eric Shaw at the South Interlake Planning District at (204) 467-5587.
