Mayoral candidate Vogiatzakis promises new express-lane permitting process

A mayoral candidate is promising a complete overhaul of the city’s permit processes, if elected.

Mike Vogiatzakis held his second of what he said would be weekly campaign pledges leading up to the Oct. 28 mayoral election. He pitched what he described as a “one-day green lane” model for approving small-scale permits: complete applications for “simple, low-risk projects” would be approved in one business day. Other residential permits would be guaranteed to be approved within five days and simple commercial permits would have a 10-day approval. Larger jobs, he said, would have a “written timeline.”

Vogiatzakis promised to open a permit hub dedicated solely to applications filed by small businesses.

“Business owners, of course, can spend months (paying) rent while waiting for permits,” he said Friday. “Homeowners and contractors can be left without clear decisions for a long time. Winnipeg has gone online with applications, but an online application is not an approval. A target is not a guarantee. My plan adds the missing link.”

He also suggested a “public library” of pre-approved building plans that residents could purchase from the city to move projects quicker.

There are currently 41 city projects that are exempt from development permits, including several added this year, such as replacing existing fire escapes and “like-for-like” balconies.

Vogiatzakis did not say how much the changes could cost, but promised a full plan, with costs and staffing, within his first 100 days in office.

“My plan is simple. It’s about moving the city quicker, faster, more efficiently, not frustrating the residents that pay tax, not frustrating small businesses that want to invest in the city,” he said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Scott Gillingham’s re-election campaign called the promises “another example of Mike not doing his homework,” pointing to recent recognition from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business for the city’s work to “modernize permitting, reduce red tape and accelerate housing and business growth.”

“(It’s) a lot of talk about fixing a problem that this administration has already worked to address,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Since spring 2025, the city has moved to concurrent reviews of development and building permits, cutting approval times in half. We’ve also moved permit applications online and made a number of changes to streamline the process.”

Vogiatzakis also promised to pull photo-radar vehicles from construction zones when work is not underway, replace missing playground signage around the city and set up more widespread installation of eye-level pedestrian crossing lights. He promised a review of all three points within his first 90 days, if elected.

He also suggested that the city should have its own bylaws restricting electric scooter use; provincial legislation was passed June 1 that imposes a maximum 25 km/h speed limit, bans operating personal electric vehicles on sidewalks, requires riders to wear helmets and be at least 16 years old, but hasn’t yet been enacted into law.

Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Don Woodstock released a package of campaign promises Friday focused on St. Boniface infrastructure.

He promised to rebuild Happyland Pool, which was closed in 2024, and pledged to build and open a bigger facility before closing any pool in the future.

Woodstock, who said he’d previously lived in St. Boniface and regularly took his children to Happyland Pool, said the neighbourhood’s bid to save it by raising $75,000 should have been sufficient proof that the outdoor facility was worth investing in.

“(Council) made the decision long ago to close it, so no matter what the community said, no matter how many people came and demonstrated, no matter what was said, they were going to close it, no matter what,” he said. “That is not representing the needs and the wishes of the people. That’s not how politics should be governed.”

Before closing the pool, council heard that Happyland would require $3.6 million in capital spending for maintenance over the next 10 years, and would cost $190,000 to operate in 2024.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca