ManitobaWinnipeg’s plans to build an apartment complex on a parking lot can only proceed if the neighbouring Granite Curling Club is satisfied with the number of parking spots it would receive, the municipal board has ruled.Club must be satisfied with spaces for work to proceed: municipal boardIan Froese · CBC News · Posted: Nov 14, 2025 3:03 PM EST | Last Updated: November 15Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Granite Curling Club will need to approve the parking plan in order for the development of a new 111-unit apartment complex nearby to proceed. (Warren Kay/CBC)Winnipeg’s plans to build an apartment complex on a parking lot can only proceed if the neighbouring Granite Curling Club is satisfied with the number of parking spots it receives, the Manitoba Municipal Board has ruled.In a new 47-page decision, the provincial appeals body has ruled a permit for the 111-unit apartment complex can only be issued after the creation of an “adequate” parking plan that supports the “ongoing operational sustainability of the club, to the satisfaction of the Granite Curling Club, the Director of Public Works, and the Director of Planning, Property and Development.”The decision by the unelected body brings the city and curling club back to the drawing board on the issue that’s stalled this affordable housing project from the beginning: parking. The city’s plan to build more housing on a lot it owns has drawn opposition from the board of the curling club, which says it would take away more than half of the Granite’s 80 parking spaces. That would mean a loss of revenue and could drive away members, threatening the club’s long-term survival, according to the board.Meanwhile, the city is looking to boost its housing stock to support people needing a place to live.The plan for the building, built by the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0, is to have 55 market-rent units, another 12 at 79 per cent of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s median market rent, and 14 at 69 per cent of that rate. The remaining 30 units would offer rent geared to income. (UWCRC 2.0)Christian Pierce, secretary of the curling club’s board, said he’s pleased with the municipal board’s ruling.While the curling club board wants to negotiate parking options with the city, he said losing any spots is a non-starter. All 80 parking spaces, and nearby street parking, are occupied on league nights, he said.Club says parking loss not possibleWhat’s “adequate to us is not losing any of our spots because we need all of them. It’s already deficient for meeting our needs,” Pierce said in an interview.The municipal board said its desire for the parking plan to be “adequate” means any solution should be “reasonable” and “negotiated in good faith” between the city and the curling club.The two parties have also been told to find “accessible” and “ongoing parking” to replace any parking spaces lost by the Granite as a result of the new apartment complex.Pierce said the city has neighbouring land it could turn into parking.”We’re very open-minded on finding a solution here. The issue was that, leading up to the municipal board hearing and during, there were no other alternatives even offered.”Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt, who sits on city council’s property committee, accused city officials and the developer, University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0, of dismissing the curling club’s concerns for months in a “kind of dictatorial fashion.”Wyatt said if the housing proponents had properly negotiated with the club from the beginning, “they would not have this embarrassing ruling coming against the city.”In its ruling, the municipal board disagreed with the city’s contention that amending the bylaw approving the housing complex creates a dangerous precedent that erodes the property and ownership rights of developers. It said the relationship between the city and curling club, “as stewards of a beloved heritage asset,” is unique. Some disappointed with municipal boardA group of Granite Curling Club members supporting the housing project panned the municipal board’s intervention. It noted an encampment is currently where the proposed development would be.”We are disappointed that the province has given the municipal board, a small unelected group without proper representation, the power to impede the city’s ability to respond to the housing crisis,” said a statement from the Granite Members for Affordable Housing.Municipal Relations Minister Glen Simard said the province is reviewing Bill 37 — the Planning Amendment and City of Winnipeg Charter Amendment Act — which empowers the municipal board to hear appeals and issue binding rulings on development decisions made by elected municipal councils.In an emailed statement Friday night, Simard said the government’s review will include an action plan that will be released by the end of the year.The Granite group’s statement also called the curling club’s position that its long-term viability is at risk with a reduction of parking spots “baseless.”In 2021, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government expanded the powers of the municipal board to give provincial appointees the ability to flip decisions made by elected municipal councils. Mayors, reeves and councillors across the province have complained to the province ever since. A provincial review of the legislation, released last month, found the appeals body made inconsistent decisions and that “all stakeholders” believe “the municipal board has become a more litigious and costly forum instead of functioning as an independent tribunal” — however, it stopped short of entirely ratcheting back its enhanced powers. ABOUT THE AUTHORIan Froese covers the Manitoba Legislature and provincial politics for CBC News in Winnipeg. He also serves as president of the legislature’s press gallery. You can reach him at ian.froese@cbc.ca. Twitter: @ianfroese
Granite Curling Club holds the hammer in dispute over new apartment complex parking
