City council approves rezoning for 18-storey downtown building

Article content

Moncton city council approved a rezoning at the corner of Botsford and Victoria streets Tuesday, giving the green light to a new 18-storey apartment complex in the heart of downtown.

The proposed Bernard Place will be constructed on an empty lot next to the historic St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church on Botsford Street. It will be an 18-storey, mixed-use building with 181 residential units and businesses on the ground floor, and 136 parking stalls in underground and interior parking lots. It will have a pool and gym for tenants. The application before council on behalf of owner Trevor Ritchie was to rezone the property from SBD (Secondary Business District) to CBD (Central Business District).

A public hearing was held during Tuesday’s city council meeting, with some objections. There were concerns about the shadow cast by an 18-storey building and whether that would affect other buildings and homes that use solar panels to generate their own electricity.

Neighbouring building owners said in a letter of objection that they were concerned about the effect on downtown parking and recommended that Victoria Street be widened.

BiIl Budd, the city’s director of planning, said the Heritage Board was consulted on the design, which sets it back from the street to minimize the effect of the shadow. As for widening the street, city planners said the building is providing parking and people moving into buildings like this want to live in a rejuvenated and walkable downtown core.

Council also voted in favour of another project on McLaughlin Drive, where developers are proposing a planned community on a 19-acre property. This project will consist of 24 units in townhouses, 56 units in  low-rise apartment buildings and 378 units in high-rise apartments, for a total of 458 units.

The development had received objections from residents of surrounding neighbourhoods during a public hearing in January. On Tuesday, Budd told council that the plan had been reworked, with the reduction of buildings from six storeys to five. The developer also agreed to contribute an acre of green space that would be used to create a park around the neighbourhood. The updated plan also included removing balconies from the rear of buildings and more trees to separate it from existing neighbourhoods.

This development came with an extra note from the provincial government, saying that if anything of “archaeological significance” is found during construction, all activity shall be stopped and provincial authorities be notified. Budd said this is a new requirement from the provincial government.

Council also approved an application to rezone 356 Ryan Street from R2 (Two Unit Dwelling) to RM (Residential Mix), which would allow for rowhouse developments and a total of 24 housing units. This application received objections from neighbours worried about increased traffic and noise, drainage on the site and the proposed colour of the fence.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said applications for new housing developments are moving through city hall at a rapid pace, which means that residents will voice concerns and objections, but she said much more will be coming to satisfy the growing need for housing. Multi-unit buildings are now under construction in many parts of the city, sometimes in empty lots off main and secondary streets.

“We know that the easy parts of the city have been developed, and now the tricky part is to develop in places we have left, so we need to do a better job of engaging the public and telling the story,” Arnold said after Tuesday’s meeting. “We need different kinds of housing for people.”

With all the construction happening, council has also enacted a new tree protection bylaw to prevent too many trees from being cut down before construction projects begin.

At the onset of Tuesday’s meeting, council heard a presentation by Corey Herc of O Strategies, which received funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to study the need for affordable housing in Moncton. He said the researchers came up with 14 action items that should be able to help people with long-term housing needs. Their findings will be made public during an event March 7 at 10 a.m. at the Community Hub at 140 Joyce Ave.

• Council also approved the purchase of a $200,000 portable chemical identification unit, which will become an asset for the Moncton Fire Department’s hazardous materials (HAZMAT) team. Fire Chief Conrad Landry said the portable unit is used to test samples of unknown liquid, solid or gaseous substances to determine what it is. It can also test for drugs and pollutants in the air.

“If we arrive to a call and there’s some liquid on the floor, we can take samples and know exactly what it is. Once we know what it is, we can take mitigation measures,” Landry said. The purchase also gives the fire department access to a 24/7 call centre that provides advice on dealing with hazardous materials. The Moncton Fire Department’s HAZMAT team is responsible for taking calls in eastern New Brunswick.