Some Niven residents oppose another housing project

Another proposed housing development in Yellowknife’s Niven Lake neighbourhood is facing opposition from several residents.

City councillors on Monday discussed a four-storey, 24-unit apartment building being proposed by developer Milan Mrdjenovich’s company.

If the project is approved, a building with 23 two-bedroom units and one single-bedroom unit will be constructed at 101 Hagel Drive.

According to the city, the development meets the requirements of its zoning bylaw and community plan. However, it proposes more units per lot than the Niven Lake Development Scheme allowed under a previous bylaw that’s no longer in effect.

Under that scheme, a maximum of 16 units would be permitted. That, though, was also changed – in 2016, still well before a new zoning bylaw was passed, city councillors agreed to allow 20 units on the site.

As a result, there is a four-unit difference between what the city has previously agreed and the current proposal, and the municipality’s staff want councillors to recommend whether the project should be granted a development permit.

Newly hired city manager John Collin, appearing at his first municipal meeting, said having council make the call would “ensure transparency in the decision-making instead of simply a development officer’s decision.”

‘It’s absurd and wrong’

Nine residents of the area wrote to the city about the proposal, most of them opposing the development.

Residents raised issues like the construction work required and the project’s potential impact on traffic, housing density, sunlight and green space.

“It’s absurd and wrong,” one resident wrote of granting the company a development permit, expressing concern about blasting and excavation at another property in the neighbourhood.

“I live directly adjacent to these units that are being built and the amount of traffic that is coming up and down Niven Drive is scary,” another resident wrote.

“The potential of adding approximately 100 vehicles travelling in and out of this area in peak times is a little nerve wrecking. As a mom of two young children, I do not feel that Niven is a safe area any more.”

The city said the impact to vehicle access and on-site traffic from the development is expected to be minimal. City staff said a development agreement would include measures such as new traffic signs. The intersection between Niven Drive, Hagen Drive and Ballantyne Court would become a four-way stop.

Addressing sunlight concerns, city staff determined a sun shadow study was not required as the proposal meets zoning bylaw regulations.

Councillors appeared largely supportive of granting the permit at Monday’s meeting.

Mayor Rebecca Alty stressed that housing is already permitted on the lot. The question before council is whether to permit a building with four more units than previously allowed.

She noted the proposed building will take up a footprint smaller than the maximum space allowed and will provide 24 parking spaces, five more than are required.

“We can deny the extra four units and it might kill the project for the developer, and the land might come back to the city to be sold to somebody else,” she said, adding a new proposal could be bigger, taller and have fewer parking spots.

“The number-one issue that I hear every single day is lack of housing in Yellowknife,” Alty added. “I can appreciate that it’s going to be difficult to have another summer of construction in this area but as these are the last lots to develop, I’m sure folks will also appreciate just one more summer of construction.”

Councillors Tom McLennan, Rob Warburton and Ben Hendriksen also expressed support for the proposal.

Councillors will formally vote on whether to recommend granting the development permit at their next regular meeting on April 22.

Yellowknife’s housing crisis

Yellowknife, like all communities in the NWT, is struggling with a lack of adequate housing.

Three residents who wrote to the city in opposition of the Hagel Drive development said they were aware there is a housing shortage in Yellowknife.

“While I understand the high demand for rental properties in Yellowknife, I believe that adding another 24-unit building to an already densely populated area is not the appropriate solution,” one resident wrote.

“I understand that there is a housing crisis in Yellowknife, however, this developer has already been approved for three rental-only buildings in the city, which are almost complete, allowing for relief to occur in the housing market,” another resident said.

A third resident questioned whether the proposed apartment building will meet the needs of families.

The city has issued a request for proposals to complete a housing needs assessment, intended to help the municipality better understand the type of housing Yellowknife will need next.

According to the latest northern housing report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 28 percent of families in Yellowknife were unable to afford secure rental housing in 2022. That report found core housing need – where households face issues with the adequacy, suitabliity or affordability of housing – was highest among the city’s renters, lone-parent households, seniors and Indigenous people.

The report also highlighted challenges facing residential construction in the territorial capital, including high construction costs, a short construction season and existing land titles and protections, as well as rock outcrops, permafrost and soil stability issues that limited the usable land for development.

The report said residential construction declined 21.3 percent in 2022 and no private rentals were completed that year.

Benefits, drawbacks of higher housing density

The opposition of some Yellowknife residents to nearby housing developments is not unusual.

In 2022, the city’s development appeal board rejected a challenge aimed at a 70-unit apartment building over traffic concerns. That development is now under construction on Hagel Drive.

The board also rejected another resident’s complaint about a proposed fourplex in the Niven neighbourhood.

In a recent episode of The Political Trenches, a podcast focused on municipal government, recently departed Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett spoke about the city’s vision for development. She said the new zoning bylaw, which guides development in the city over the next 20 years, aims to temper urban sprawl and the high cost of housing by encouraging densification.

“That benefits everybody,” she argued.

“You have more people, you’ve got a higher assessment value that overall brings down the taxes for everybody else. What’s not to love? Well, NIMBYs don’t love that necessarily,” she continued, referencing the acronym for “not in my backyard,” which is associated with people who object to a development they view as undesirable in their neighbourhood.

“That’s the tough part of the issue right now. I don’t think that’s unique to Yellowknife,” she said. “I think that’s everyone’s dealing with that.”

Lengthy debates about the city’s zoning bylaw, and the future of development in Yellowknife, were often divided along the lines of age.

While some younger residents said they supported more affordable housing options such as multi-unit dwellings, as well as mixed use and walkable neighbourhoods, several longer-term residents sought to preserve the character of single-home neighbourhoods.