Moncton plan to speed housing approvals would cut some public notices, hearings

Moncton is proposing achange in its approval system for new housing that currently results in public hearings and notices going to neighbours.

Andrew Smith, the city's manager of long-range policy planning, told councillorsMonday it's the first in a series of bylaw changes the city is considering to "streamline" its development approvals process.

"This is ultimately to reduce barriers and accelerate our housing supply,"Smith said.

The city approves developmentsdepending on locationand type of use:

• Uses permitted by zoning rules that can be approved by a municipal development officer within about two weeks.
• Uses that require planning advisory committee approval, including conditional uses, which typically take six to eight weeks.
• Rezoning of land which requires city council approval, something that cantake four to six months.

The proposed change would affect the second item.

Hearing set for Jan. 15

Smith said all mid- and high-density residential uses, such as townhouses, row housesand apartment buildingsoutside downtown, are conditional uses.

That means they are subject to terms and conditions that can be imposed by the city's planning advisory committee at its public meetings.

A staff report to council says the proposal wouldchange all residential uses from conditional to permitted use.

In some cases, that couldeliminate a requirementto notifyproperty owners within 60 metres of the development and for the plans to be reviewed by the committee.

However, implementing the proposal requires a public hearing on the plan to eliminate these public hearings. That hearing has been set for Jan. 15.

Several councillors questioned that on Monday, asking who would be responsible for telling residents about projects under consideration in their neighbourhood.Smith said it would be up to the developer.

"As a permitted use, there would be no municipal bylaw or policy detailing the notice for neighbours to have a say in that application process," Smith said.

City staff say Moncton isthe only remaining large municipality in New Brunswick that still employsthe conditional-use system when approving mid- and high-density residential.

Staff say the proposal would also address misconceptions about whether the planning committee has the power to reject proposed developments.

"Although the engagement process can have value in refining the development proposal to improve neighbourhood compatibility, it can also have the effect of stalling or dragging out projects in response to NIMBY efforts," a staff report to council states, using theacronym for "not in my backyard."

Coun. Daniel Bourgeois questioned the proposal.

"I want to speak on behalf of NIMBYismin the sense that a lot of people have purchased properties, myself included based on the conditions that exist in our neighborhood," Bourgeois said.

"So we would be very disappointed, each and every one of us, if all of a sudden the city council said no, we're going to have a 30 story building next door to you.

"And I understand that.So not in my backyard because the rulesthat were in effect when I bought the property didn't say anything about that."

Other proposals pending

Staff noted that the proposal doesn't change the actual zoning, meaning a property zoned to only allow a single home would still only be allowed to have a single home.

However, the city is considering future changes to its zoning to access federal housing funding, which could change those zoning rules.

Councillorspreviouslydirected staff to consider bylaw changes to allow up to four units on all residential properties across the city, though that is expected to take about a year to get to council.