From today's T&T:
http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=12229
Dieppe stops rezoning process
Friday, December 13, 2013
Times & Transcript
By: Allison Toogood
A Dieppe city council vote on whether to end a residential project's rezoning process was split evenly and needed to be decided by the mayor this week.
With four votes against and four votes in favour during Monday's council meeting, Yvon Lapierre voted to approve the city's planning advisory committee's recommendation to stop the process for a rural neighbourhood proposed for a sprawling plot of land just within Dieppe's boundaries.
The property at the Rouse Street and Melanson Road area is owned by developers Charles Poirier of Tridev Corporation and Architects Four Ltd.'s Jeff VanDommelen. The process was halted mainly because the proposal goes against the intention of the municipal plan, which is being reviewed in 2014.
Not only would the land be divided up into properties measuring several acres - with a maximum of five acres - each, the developers were looking to install private, individual septic tanks and systems.
Lapierre said despite council's differing points of view, he ultimately voted to stop the process as constructing a rural-residential project like this goes against the city's objective of urban density.
Even with the municipal plan's future amendments, Lapierre said that objective isn't likely to change.
'To allow construction of homes in areas with five-acre lots, although I'm sure they'd be superb developments in terms of the quality of homes and the landscaping, it's just clearly not intended within the municipal plan and I don't think it meets our goal of increasing density,' he said. 'So to me, it was that simple.' The proposed project's rezoning application already went through a public presentation and a public hearing during regular council meetings where councillors had concerns about the septic tank plan and future costs associated with municipal services being extended to the area.
One written citizen objection was also issued as a neighbouring homeowner worried about the watershed, in relation to the creek, a loss of value in their property, water drainage issues and possible water supply contamination because of the private septic tanks and systems.
For Lapierre, simple economics, on top of the municipal plan guidelines, is a sound reason for the municipality to reject the proposed project as it stands.
There are a few similar developments built just outside the city boundary that could one day cost a pretty penny, he said.
'If we ever decide to expand, and if an extension of our boundary is approved, that would represent a huge financial challenge for the municipality.' Not only would the city have to endure the expense of servicing the lots, the neighbourhood's roadways would then become public streets. Dieppe would also be responsible for picking up their garage, plowing snow off the streets, maintain the asphalt on the roads and enter them into the maintenance program.
'Even if they are million-dollar homes, that's only still one home on five acres, whereas, there are usually three homes per acre in more dense residential areas. So with one, five-acre lot, that could be 15 homes, which at a moderate value of $200,000, it's still a much higher revenue level for the municipality to cover the cost of space and services.' Although Poirier said at a previous meeting the situation of having a municipal water source paired with an advanced but private septic on a lot doesn't happen too often in cities, he cited successfully developed neighbourhoods in nearby communities like Memramcook and Beaubassin as examples.
But Lapierre said there are also negative examples of what can happen when a development isn't hooked up to both municipal water and sewer services.
'There has been the controversial court proceeding with the people of Dover Estates as the city extended the service out to a portion of the area,' he said.
'We don't want to go through that again.'
Personal note - Glad to see that sanity has prevailed (just barely) on Dieppe city council. The last thing the metro area needs is another abomination like the Rural Estates subdivision on the northwestern fringes of Moncton. Very occasionally, a development with large lots might be justifiable (like the Timberline Road on Lutes Mountain - because of the view), but generally there is little justification for this sort of development. An occasional lot measuring an acre within a standard subdivision causes little harm, but nobody (aside from farmers) need a five acre lot and a whole subdivision of five acre lots makes the neighbourhood unsustainable in terms of provision of services by the municipality. I'm glad to see that the Dieppe mayor has taken the proper stance on this issue! 
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