It seems the third time's a charm for a developer in the Rural Municipality of Hanover.

After being rejected twice for a rural residential subdivision southwest of Mitchell, Abe Bergen of Kleefeld Developments has had his latest proposal approved by council.

Bergen recently appeared before Hanover Council proposing the creation of 16 rural residential lots southwest of Mitchell. According to Hanover Administration, in 2019, Council rejected two separate subdivision applications on this site that included two additional neighbouring properties. Since that time, the two neighbouring properties have been approved for subdivision.

Hanover Reeve Jim Funk says the lots, off Hanover Road, will be around two acres in size, with some being slightly larger. 

The proposal passed by a vote of 5-1.

"Some of the councillors, they just said, you know what, they maybe had made a mistake the first time and they felt that this should have been maybe passed the first time," explains Funk. "And for that reason, they passed it this time."

According to Funk, the proposal did not find favour from all neighbours. He notes some neighbours voiced concern over drainage in the area. 

"It seems like drainage is always a little bit of a problem," he says. "Certainly, that concern is warranted. I believe we have a few places where we need to address drainage and which we are, which will be done here also."

Hanover Planning Manager Jeremy Neufeld says as is the case in all multi-lot subdivisions, professional engineers will be required to provide a design for the roads and drainage ensuring that the development will not have a negative impact to surrounding landowners or downstream impact. These plans require review and approval from the Manager of Engineering and Manitoba Water Stewardship. 

Map of subdivisionThe subdivision will be off Hanover Road and west of Road 30E.