Yellowknife city council approves acquisition of land on Willow Flats, Frame Lake

Yellowknife city council has voted to acquire parcels of land for the city's housing strategy — including in Willow Flats, the Frame Lake shore and the end of Ptarmigan Road. 

The bylaws approving their transfer from the N.W.T. government passed unanimously Monday evening, without question or comment, after three readings. The city will need to file a request to acquire the land from the territory, a process which can take months or even several years.

The parcels were previously discussed during an update on residential development progress to council from city planning on July 14. 

"These decisions tonight are about acquiring the land, so we'll have the choice of whether to do something with it or not," said Coun. Ryan Fequet on Monday. "So this is about acquiring the land, not anything to do with how it will be used."

Mayor Ben Hendriksen said the city's ambition is to eventually have all land in town currently owned by the territorial government, transferred back to the city. 

He said having more land in the city's ownership, "allows us greater ability and flexibility to think about, how do we balance things like green space and housing and industry in a clearer way."

Some of the land approved for acquisition also overlaps with the area being proposed for rezoning on Willow Flats. 

Yellowknife resident Joanne McKenzie launched petitions in favour of preserving the area earlier this summer when the city asked for public comment. Her petitions received 844 and 319 signatures respectively. 

She has also been talking with other people who oppose the development. 

"We are getting a little bit more organized," she said. "We've got a few residents who seem to be really good at researching and developing materials that we're going to have to make a presentation that we can present to the city, or GNWT, or both."

She said the vote came as a surprise to her. She only understood Monday's vote was a separate proceeding when the mayor responded to her in an email on Tuesday morning.

"I think the city could slow down just a little bit," she said.

She thinks the public interest in Willow Flats warrants more clarity for people who are not used to the process of city policymaking.

"Maybe give a little bit more notification, a little bit more time so that each step can be examined," she said.

Hendriksen said that while the two issues are separate, he understood why concerns like McKenzie's came up.

"I would always encourage residents to reach out to me and my council colleagues if you have recommendations on how we can do our communications better or in a different way," he said.

Hendriksen said he expects the issue of Willow Flats's rezoning to come back before council in early September.