Fredericton council approves 147-unit apartment building on street without buses or sidewalks

No access to public transit is no problem to councillors who gave the OK Monday night for a proposed 147-unit apartment building in Fredericton.

Councillors voted in favour of a zoning amendment that would allow an apartment building to be constructed on Duncan Lane, even though the location currently provides no access to public transit for potential tenants.

City staff say it's a situation that could change between now and when the building gets constructed, but three councillors showed concerns that that might not happen, and pushed for a motion — which was ultimately defeated — to have the proposal tabled until a later date.

"We've had multiple discussions around this table over the last two years regarding environment, and I'm not sure how some of the councillors can support a 147-unit building with only cars as a transportation option," said Coun. Henri Mallet, who supported tabling an application he described as "premature" because services are not yet in place for needed housing.

"First of all on transit, we've heard that… as the area continues to grow, we'll re-evaluate the need for transit, but we don't have a guaranteed timeline. It could be three, five, 10 years before we get transit into the area, and just a reminder that it's nowhere near a trail system," Mallet said.

The proposal comes to council as the city struggles to deal with a housing crunch. Cedar Valley Investments Ltd. is proposing to build the complex at 111 Duncan Lane, between Golf Club Road to the north, and Prospect Street to the south.

A Fredericton city staff report shows Duncan Lane currently has no sidewalk.

Furthermore, the closest bus stop to the site is currently on Rainsford Lane, which would require transit users to cross Prospect Street, which is a divided highway with a posted speed limit of 70 km/h.

Coun. Margo Sheppard said it was a "great proposal" that still ought to be tabled until there's a plan for transit.

"I find that when there's no services around within a walkable community that it is difficult, because the developer that builds apartments isn't going to necessarily build services," she said.

Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc also supported the motion to table the rezoning, and when that was defeated, the three councillors voted against the motion for the rezoning.

City could better assign capital to growth areas: CAO

When pitching to table the rezoning motion, Mallet said he wanted to see city staff present a clearer picture of how it planned to allocate capital specifically to growth areas, including around the proposed apartment building.

Mallet said that would give council a clearer idea of timelines around having services and amenities built in conjunction with housing and other developments.

"We need to make sure that there's an amount [of money] invested in a growth area," Mallet said. "Not wait for development to happen, but really get in there while development is happening and make sure that we have the proper infrastructure in place."

In response, Fredericton chief administrative officer Stephen Hart said the city could do a better job in designating its capital to specific growth nodes.

However, he said city staff will work on providing that alignment in the next budget presented this fall.

"We're going to be presenting a new revised long term financial plan to council as part of the budget process this year, which should set us up for the next five to 10 years as to how we allocate our capital," he said.