Rest Haven variance approved

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This article was published 04/04/2018 (2206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach city council saw fit to allow a sizeable variance for Rest Haven personal care home on Tuesday night, to help facilitate plans for its expansion project.

The application sought to reduce the new personal care home building’s front yard, along Woodhaven Avenue, from the required 25 feet to 11 feet.

Jerald Peters of ft3 Architecture described to council how plans for the three storey structure required additional space.

“We’ve looked at number of different configurations and they don’t fit,” Peters said, when asked by Councillor Michael Zwaagstra if other options could avoid a variance.

One Giesbrecht Street resident spoke in favour of the project but against the need for a variance.

Tim McAllister encouraged the city to stick to its requirements, suggesting the large development was incompatible with the neighbourhood.

He wasn’t alone. City administration also recommended that council deny the variance application, arguing the reduction of more than 50 percent was too significant and not in keeping with other neighbouring development. The city report noted that under current zoning for the property, an eight storey building could be built.

Peters indicated to council that additional storeys for a project of this type would add additional code requirements, which would significantly increase the costs of the construction.

Acknowledging the high need for personal care homes, council was still inclined to approve the request, voting unanimously for the variation to be approved.

One fact that went unacknowledged during the meeting was Peters’ reference to a 142-bed expansion.

HavenGroup CEO David Dreidger confirmed to The Carillon the project has now increased slightly from the 140-bed expansion announced last fall, to add an additional two units into the plan.