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Posted Jul 19, 2008, 3:57 PM
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Unregistered Loser
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: NB
Posts: 1,412
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From the newspaper....why don't they consider creating more "grid" street patterns instead of a sprawl?
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Big picture Old plan
Development Ken Forrest's priority is to update municipal plan; new council has a major role to play
Published Saturday July 19th, 2008 - B1
JOHN MAZEROLLE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
SAINT JOHN - When it comes to the development boom, Saint John is a city without a plan - or, at least, a plan that is relevant to present-day reality.
Kâté LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal
Ken Forrest, Saint John’s commissioner of planning and development, stands with some old municipal plans framed on the wall. The city’s municipal plan has not made a major overhaul since 1973.
The city's municipal plan - a two-inch thick document that provides the rules of the game for development - has not had a major overhaul since 1973. The time lag is not lost on the new commissioner of planning, who says the city is inevitably becoming less proactive as it constantly amends a 35-year-old plan.
"We're starting to react to some of the things that are happening because we haven't taken that larger look," said Ken Forrest, who took over as city planner in May. "The older the plan gets, the more times you have to amend it."
Updating the municipal plan will have many benefits for Saint John, Forrest said. It will provide a framework for many other council concerns such as transportation and affordable housing, it will give developers a clear idea what the community expects, and it will give the public a say on council policy.
Saint John residents will be involved in the rewrite process. Forrest said he won't know exactly how until he speaks with council, but that it will be a "public-intensive" process. He'll be out of town during this Monday's council meeting, but hopes to speak with council as soon as possible afterward.
Former mayor Norm McFarlane made a motion in March that made updating the municipal plan and the zoning bylaw one of council's top priorities. The new council has yet to set its priorities, but the plan will be part of the discussion. Coun. Bill Farren brought up the issue during the most recent council meeting, and city manager Terry Totten reminded him that changing the plan will require more money for Forrest's office.
Forrest says the problem is manpower: the very reason a plan update is needed - increased growth - is why his staff can't handle it. There's too much day-to-day work to look at the big picture.
As an example, Forrest said that nine cases came before the city's planning advisory committee on July 2, 14 cases were dealt with on July 15, and 10 are due for July 29. A normal case load would be four or five, he said.
It's had an effect on council meetings, too, with many sessions dominated by public hearings, which unlike other council business have no time limit.
"If we have a more current view of where we want to go, then we don't have to get into these site-specific processes," Forrest said.
The municipal plan, in its broadest strokes, tells residents and developers what areas are meant for residential, commercial or industrial uses.
Forrest referred to a recent map of the city's land-use plan, noting that the most obvious gap is that part of the site meant for the second oil refinery is still zoned rural. But he said the map is secondary. "It's not the colours, it's the policy behind it."
Here are some of the questions residents will be asked to consider:
* How much infill development are neighbourhoods willing to absorb?
* How dense will they allow construction to be?
* Can commercial and residential projects be integrated?
* How should their community look?
When the plan is updated, it would have an impact on almost everything the city does. For instance, bus routes thrive on concentrations of people, so a public transportation plan and the municipal plan should dovetail. Also, the city would try to steer developers toward the areas that the public would prefer to accept development.
At least one official has been clamouring for an updated plan since last summer, although his concern is for a more specific area than the entire city.
Peter Asimakos of the economic development group Uptown Saint John Inc. has said that a new urban plan for the city's southern peninsula is essential. That plan, last updated in 1999, sets guidelines for development in the uptown, south end, and the city centre north of Union Street. Through consultation with the community, the plan sets guidelines for the location and promotion of such items as green space and in-fill housing, as well as commercial, institutional, and port development.
Asimakos said the plan provides focus and priorities when developing the uptown, which directly reflects the condition of the entire city.
Forrest said that as gas prices make it more expensive to drive, an opportunity exists to increase development within city boundaries.
But he says people will still spend money on the gas if they can't find the right neighbourhood closer in.
Forrest said you can drive every neighbourhood in the city and see a development opportunity somewhere.
"This was once a city of 90,000 people," he said. "We can be a city of 90,000 again."
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Quote:
City construction continues to boom
Published Saturday July 19th, 2008
JOHN MAZEROLLE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL - B2
SAINT JOHN - The boom is as loud as ever.
Kâté LeBlanc/Telegraph-Journal
Jason Stephen of Royal LePage stands in one of Millidgeville's newer booming subdivisions, Cedar Point Anchorage.
Last year, new construction in Saint John reached unprecedented levels, and the numbers in 2008 are on pace to be equally good. Construction has plateaued, but that plateau is high in the sky.
"There's a lack of supply with the current real estate market," said Jason Stephen, a local realtor. "There's a lot of people looking to buy, but not a lot listed, so people are turning to new construction instead."
The city's high construction numbers are the clearest sign that the energy boom in Saint John is already underway. Analysts have predicted that six existing and planned megaprojects in southern New Brunswick will create 33,000 jobs province-wide, up to $44 billion in spending, and $14.2 billion in tax revenue over 10 years.
There has been approximately $79 million in construction undertaken so far this year, compared to $74 million over the same time period last year and less than half that the year before. During the rest of the decade numbers - for the entire year - fluctuated between $26 million and $51 million.
Stephen said he expects the construction of single-family homes - 165 so far this year - to rise even more in the coming years.
"There's tracts of land that haven't even opened up yet."
Areas undergoing residential development in the city include Lancaster, Grandview Avenue, and Millidgeville.
Stephen said the biggest challenge will be finding enough construction workers. "There's been some developers that are trying to build a house a day," he said.
The amount of multi-family construction is down this year, but house construction overall is still booming. Stephen said that's likely because people looking to buy multi-family buildings in town will probably find what they're looking for.
Meanwhile, industrial construction - the reason new homes are needed in the first place - is also keeping pace with last year. So far, the city is site to three projects worth $41 million - the largest being the latest portion of the liquefied natural gas plant at Mispec.
Finally, the value of institutional construction is higher this year than at any time this decade. The $10 million in construction is almost entirely due to the new cruise ship terminal at the port.
The boom can be both a boon and a challenge for the city: It provides the city with an increased tax base, but it can also cost the city in infrastructure maintenance down the road.
As for upfront money, the city earns $8 on every $1,000 a project is worth, plus a $100 flat fee for each project. That means the $78,572,878 worth of projects being worked on between January 1 and June 30 translated to about $650,000 in building permits for the city.
Mayor Ivan Court said the most important stat for him is the strong year so far for housing starts. "If you're increasing the residential, you're increasing the population," he said.
He said he expects the boom numbers to rise even higher rather than staying where they are now, because many large projects are still on the drawing board.
Court said his concerns include ensuring that housing remains affordable for everyone and increasing the population in the uptown core.
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From The Radio:
Quote:
Sunwing expands winter line-up
July 18, 2008 - 6:45 pm
By: News 88-9 Staff
SAINT JOHN, N.B.- Sunwing Vacations is adding to it's Saint John lineup at the Saint John Airport.
Vacation packages to Cancun Mexico will be included in Sunwing's 2009 spring schedule, complimenting previously announced service to Veradero Cuba.
Sunwing is entering it's third season at the Saint John airport.
Airport President and C.E.O. Bernie Leblanc says Sunwing will also be starting earlier in the season to take advantage of March break travellers. Cancun vacation packages will run weekly from February 15th to May 3rd with trips to Cuba going from February 17th to April 28th
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