Bylaw changes will speed up housing developments: city

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The City of Moncton was already in the process of streamlining its zoning bylaws to speed up construction of new housing developments when it received approval for $15.5 million from the federal government to help address the housing crisis, the city’s director of planning said Monday.

“This was something we were already working on, removing barriers to housing developments,” said Bill Budd, who oversees the planning department. Last week, Moncton city council voted in favour of moving forward with changes to the Municipal Plan and Zoning bylaw amendments for and use tables. The $15.5 million from the federal housing accelerator fund is expected to help create 490 additional housing units over three years, in various forms from new construction to renovations of existing buildings. The city says changes to the zoning bylaws are needed in order for the funding to work as intended.

The issue – along with similar changes to the Sunny Brae Municipal Plan – went through a public hearing on Jan. 15, where objections were heard. The hearing was concluded during the meeting of Feb. 5, when a majority of councillors voted in favour of it. Objectors voiced concerns that the changes could open the door to developers putting up types of buildings that might not have been permitted in the past. Those in favour, however, said the changes will speed up the process for developers and non-profit organizations like Rising Tide Initiatives, which is building and/or renovating buildings to create affordable homes.

The amendments approved by council last week are explained in a document called “Our Housing Crisis,” which can be found on the city’s website at moncton.ca.

The document says the amendments convert all residential “conditional uses” to “permitted uses.” The difference is: a “permitted use” can be approved by city staff, but a “conditional” use must be approved by the Planning Advisory Committee, which meets once a month.

“If you need to go to the PAC for a decision, it can take two or three months, whereas if you go directly to the city for a building permit, you can have it in a week or two,” Budd said.

Budd said the changes are an effort to get rid of “red tape” and speed up the process of issuing municipal building permits, which is also what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business called for in this year’s red tape reduction report card.

Moncton has been in a building boom for several years with a goal of creating approximately 1,000 new housing units per year. The number of units rose from 957 in 2019 to 1,177 in 2023, but that is still not enough to address the rising demand for housing.

“By 2046, our population is projected to increase by 34,700 people (+43 per cent), requiring over 16,000 housing units,” the city says in the report called “Our Housing Crisis.”

In 2023, the City of Moncton issued $341 million worth of building permits. More than half of that, 59 per cent or $204 million over 332 permits, was for residential development. Take a drive around and you’ll see multi-unit buildings springing up in many parts of the city.

Budd said the changes to the land use tables which list the different types of residential zones will help speed up the process. The land-use tables identify areas where a single, two-unit dwelling, semi-detached, duplex or multi-unit buildings are permitted. The tables also set out “conditional uses” for conditions that can be imposed by the Planning Advisory Committee.

Budd said the zoning bylaw sets out design standards for residential buildings in the different zones, with regulations on lot requirements, drainage, size and height restrictions, parking requirements and other aspects of development.

“As long as your project follows the standards set out in the bylaw, it is rare that conditions are put on top of what’s already there,” Budd said. If a developer follows the standards, they could get a building permit in a week or two. But if their proposal bypasses the standards, it goes to the Planning Advisory Committee, which could delay the process by two or three months.

Budd said the Planning Advisory Committee will still deal with rezonings, variances, new subdivisions, land for public purposes and other issues. The PAC will also participate in the upcoming review of the city’s municipal plan.

And even if the PAC gives its approval for a project, it could be rejected by council or sent back for changes or clarifications. This often happens during a public hearing before council when there are objections or unanswered questions in the public’s interest.

“The public has had a lot of input in creating the municipal plan and zoning bylaw, and we’re about to do a review of that now that will give them another chance for input,” Budd said.

The changes to the bylaw could mean that neighbours aren’t notified about projects that are being planned.

According to the “Our Housing Crisis” report, public notice is given to landowners within 60 metres of the development property. The Planning Advisory Committee does not have the authority to say no to an application and public hearings are held to give people the opportunity to voice their objections.

“If council adopts the proposed amending by-laws (which happened Feb. 4), there will no longer be a notice to all property owners within 60 meters of a development property,” the document says. “Should all regulatory requirements be met, a ‘permitted use’ would allow medium- and high-density residential projects to be approved at the staff level. However, should the proposed development require variances (flexibility from the regulations) and depending on the nature of the variances, property owners directly adjacent to the development property may be given direct mail notices. In this case, notified residents would have an opportunity to provide feedback on the development proposal.”