Controversial development gets nod from Fredericton city staff, but not planning committee
Cedar Valley Investments wants to build apartments comprising 870 units
Fredericton's planning advisory committee voted unanimously on Wednesday night to recommend city council reject a rezoning application that would allow the construction of at least 870 new housing units on a former farm lot in the city's southwestern corner.
"To see a seven [to] zero vote is very disappointing," said Louie Youssef, president of Cedar Valley Investments, which is behind the proposal.
This past spring, Cedar Valley Investments purchased the 35-acre parcel of land for $6 million, and has since applied to have roughly two-thirds of it rezoned to allow apartment buildings as tall as eight storeys.
The northern end of the property abuts Golf Club Road, while the southern end lies along Prospect Street.
The proposal calls for constructing seven apartment buildings on the southern two-thirds of the property, with those closest to Prospect Street containing commercial units on the ground floor.
The apartment buildings would be built shorter going north along the property, with townhouses and detached homes built on the northern third of the plot.
Cedar
Valley Investments's proposal would see the apartment buildings
constructed on the southern two-thirds of the property, with townhouses
and detached homes on the northern and eastern sides of the property. (City of Fredericton)
The proposal also includes the construction of a street going through the property from Golf Club Road to Prospect Street.
The property for the proposed development is a sizeable chunk of a neighbourhood primarily made up of high-end detached homes. Many residents have taken issue with the proposal, as was seen in at least 35 letters of opposition and concern they filed with the planning advisory committee ahead of the meeting.
George Filliter has a view of the property from his home on Appledorn Lane, and said his main concern is the anticipated increase in traffic that will come with the addition of thousands of new residents to the neighbourhood.
"I know the proposal has a roundabout at the top of a new road that's going to be built, going on to Prospect Street west, and that's fine for people traveling uptown, but the vast majority of people who work, work downtown," Filliter said.
"I've almost been hit several times by cars driving on [Golf Club] Road as is. The speed limit is not adhered to."
Youssef said there's no denying traffic will increase, but he contends only by "a little bit."
He said the bigger concern he wants neighbours to keep in mind is the housing crisis, which has left people across the country struggling to find a place to live.
George
Filliter lives near the property and is concerned about the increase in
traffic that will come with thousands of potential new residents. (Pat Richard/CBC)
"And in order to solve that housing crisis, I think the residents who were here complaining about the development... have to realize, and I think they do realize, that the only way to solve the problem is to create more housing," Youssef said.
Another adjacent property owned by Cedar Valley Investments was granted a zoning amendment earlier this year, and work is already underway to construct the 147-unit apartment building.
Infrastructure would follow development, says planner
As outlined in a Fredericton staff report issued to the planning advisory committee, city staff believe the proposal meets the intent of the city's growth strategy and municipal plan, with parts of the report referring to it as a "complete community" with a "logical street layout."
And if the proposal were to go forward, it wouldn't come without upgrades to nearby infrastructure, said Matthew Robinson, a planner with the City of Fredericton.
He said those would include upgrades to sewer and storm water drains, as well as a roundabout along Prospect Street and added transit service to the area.
"So we hope that that kind of gets reflected in future budgetary conversations and … we're hoping to again get that infrastructure to a point that's going to be properly servicing the new and existing residents of these areas," Robinson said.
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