Charlottetown adding homes by rezoning parts of city from low to medium density

Tony Davis · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 5:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The City of Charlottetown is hoping to summation lodging density successful the metropolis by rezoning portions of it from debased to mean density.

Eight zoning and improvement bylaw amendments passed archetypal speechmaking astatine the regular gathering of Charlottetown's metropolis assembly connected Tuesday night, astir of them aimed astatine providing much lodging options crossed the city.

"A batch of radical person this misconception that mean density means high-rise flat buildings, but it doesn't, it means gentle infill. It means being respectful to communities, gathering townhouses, gathering tiny flat buildings, gathering duplexes and homes with accessory suites and things similar that," said Charlottetown's lawman politician Alanna Jankov, who besides chairs the readying and practice committee.

"We person perchance approved 1,100 units that could beryllium developed implicit the coming years, but each done mean density. We're not looking astatine precocious rises. We're looking astatine preserving the communities and doing it with a level of class."

Some of the bylaw amendments besides came with developments.

City assembly voted unanimously to rezone a information of Mount Edward Road from debased to mean density to marque mode for a multi-phased task that could bring astir 150 units to the area. Phase 1 is simply a 47-unit flat gathering with underground parking.

According to metropolis documents, immoderate residents raised concerns astir further postulation successful the area, thing Coun. Mitch Tweel echoed during the assembly meeting.

"If you look astatine Mount Edward Road, determination is concern traffic, determination is commercialized traffic, residential traffic. The postulation is conscionable unprecedented, nary antithetic than, astir apt what you see, connected North River Road," helium said.

"With each this development, determination is simply a outgo to the municipality to supply the indispensable prerequisite infrastructure, and that's thing I americium going to inquire our unit to acceptable up the process for a postulation program for Mount Edward Road. I deliberation it's agelong overdue."

Traffic is expanding on with the population, but that's not a crushed to halt gathering housing, Jankov said.

"That is the city's work to look astatine postulation travel and postulation studies, which we volition bash and we [fully intend] to bash that. But we can't halt maturation due to the fact that we're acrophobic with postulation due to the fact that you are going to person the traffic. We person to woody with that, but we can't halt development," Jankov said.

"We're successful little than a 1 per cent vacancy complaint successful the City of Charlottetown. People request determination to live. People request affordable places to live."

The metropolis is besides trying to promote gathering adjacent transit routes truthful radical are little reliant connected cars, Jankov said. 

City seeking feedback connected bylaw

Charlottetown's metropolis assembly besides approved zoning to let a five-storey, 41-unit gathering astatine 139 Kensington Rd., a nine-unit townhouse astatine 171-181 Kensington Rd. and a four-unit townhouse connected Evelyn Street.

The metropolis is seeking feedback connected updating the Zoning and Development Bylaw. There are 2 nationalist meetings this week: 1 connected Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. astatine Simmons Sports Centre and 1 connected Thursday nighttime from 6 to 9 p.m. astatine West Royalty Community Centre.

The caller Zoning and Development Bylaw should travel to assembly for a ballot successful the adjacent six weeks, Jankov said.