Stalled park promise prompts Fredericton councillor to question new development
A proposal from J.D. Irving Ltd., one of New Brunswick's most powerful companies, that would allow the construction of nine new apartment buildings has cleared its first hurdle at Fredericton city hall.
However, the ward councillor for the neighbourhood in which they would be built said she's concerned about increasing density in the Hanwell Road-Bishop Drive area without first building a park earlier promised for residents already living there.
"I think a real disservice has been done to the folks in this neighbourhood," said Ward 9 Councillor Ruth Breen.
"And at some point if we aren't going to live up to our obligation to provide these livable amenities, we really do need to stop approving increased density, because we need to do our part."
Breen's comments came shortly before council gave first and second reading Monday night to a zoning amendment that would permit the construction of nine apartment buildings containing a combined 365 units on Lian Street.
Greg Zwicker is a consultant who filed the rezoning application on J.D. Irving's behalf, and told councillors the proposal is just one part of a plan to develop a large plot of land, which Service New Brunswick has valued at $926,400
.
That plan outlines the eventual construction of several single detached homes and townhouses in the same area, along with the development of commercial buildings housing grocery and drug stores on Bishop Drive.
A plot of land would also be set aside for a potential new school in the area.
"It's also important to remember that this is potentially decades of development, decades of growth," Zwicker said.
New subdivisions, other developments over last decade
City planning manager Marcello Battilana said J.D. Irving, as the land owner, has typically applied for zoning amendments for new housing, and once that was granted would sell the land off to a developer, which would then carry out construction.
For the past decade, that's helped lead to the creation of new subdivisions and the construction of new condo buildings and townhouses in the area southeast of the Bishop Drive-Hanwell Road intersection.
The growth of the relatively new neighbourhood led to a city commitment to construct the Lian Valcour Neighbourhood Park.
However, the city failed to meet its promise of having it done by last fall.
"I think the neighborhood is really quite frustrated with the playground," Breen said after the meeting.
"They've been waiting for a long time. They've been talking about it for a long time."
Dylan Gamble, the city's director of engineering and operations, said the city put out a tender for the new park last year, but the quotes contractors provided were "astronomical."
He said that prompted the city to pivot to doing much of the work in-house.
"I know it has been delayed from basically we were planning on getting it done in the fall, but it all had to do with the market and what was going on and how much was budgeted at the time," Gamble said.
Gamble said work on the park will now happen this summer, and should be finished by the fall.
As for the rezoning request from J.D. Irving, the application will go before councillors for a final vote on May 24.
