Charlottetown looks to add housing with official plan, but residents have mixed feelings

Tony Davis · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 6:05 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

After much than 2 years of processing an authoritative plan, the City of Charlottetown is getting adjacent to voting connected adopting it. Some residents person concerns with higher density lodging the program could marque mode for, but others are welcoming it.

The past clip an authoritative program was drafted for P.E.I.'s superior was backmost successful 1999.

The draught of the authoritative program considers expanding lodging density on nodes and corridors.

Corridors see sections of immoderate of the large routes done the metropolis — University Avenue, St. Peters Road, Belvedere Avenue, Capital Drive — and the nodes volition autumn wherever the intersections of those arteries conscionable specified arsenic the country of University and Belvedere Avenue.

Corridors are high-traffic roads which person a premix of residential and commercialized development. The draught of the authoritative program would let for six-storey flat buildings successful those areas.

In the node areas, eight-storey apartments could beryllium built nether the draught of the authoritative plan.

That has immoderate residents acrophobic astir what could spell up adjacent to them. About 30 residents filled the assembly enclosure for the nationalist gathering connected Wednesday night, with others sitting extracurricular the assembly enclosure watching the gathering connected a TV.

"If you are going to bash it successful our neighbourhood, you bash it successful the practice neighbourhoods too. Right present everything is up for grabs; wherever determination is bare space, usage it," said Carolyn Walsh, who lives successful Charlottetown.

"There is simply a batch of different abstraction that tin beryllium used… past you person to woody with a contractor who mightiness person bought a location and helium is going to spell successful and decide, 'OK, we're going to marque this into a four-unit oregon five-unit.' How does that adjacent code the concern of bringing much concern oregon thing else. It brings much problems," Walsh said, adding she worries astir crimes, specified arsenic interruption and enters, which she claimed could travel on with higher density housing.

Walsh does hold the metropolis needs an authoritative plan, but she doesn't deliberation this is the close one, she said.

In the program determination is besides extortion for the 500-lot area,  wherever galore practice homes beryllium successful the downtown core. Proposed lodging successful that country would beryllium required to spell done a plan reappraisal process and incorporated tempest surge protection.

However, Charlottetown's Mayor, Philip Brown, is wide the draught program isn't the authoritative guiding papers erstwhile it comes to what buildings spell where.

"It's lone a vision. It's not the nuts and bolts that volition travel aft we commencement connected the zoning and improvement bylaw," said Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown.

The metropolis has received $10.2 cardinal backing from the national Housing Accelerator Fund, but a caveat of that wealth was for the metropolis to let as-of-right four-unit buildings.

The conception of the draught authoritative program connected residential neighbourhoods defines low-density arsenic 4 units oregon less per lot.

But Michael Ruus, manager of integrated maturation for the city, said that doesn't mean radical tin physique fourplexes wherever they want. Each task volition inactive beryllium discussed, debated and voted connected by metropolis council.

"That argumentation model is what our readying squad uses to measure immoderate changes to the existent zoning bylaw which provides the rules of the roadworthy for development. And so, that's the adjacent portion of the task which we'll beryllium starting this year," helium said.

"We'll person a wholly abstracted nationalist engagement programme moving passim the summertime and into the autumn earlier we finalize the caller zoning and improvement bylaw which volition acceptable retired those caller rules."

The metropolis is undergoing amendments to its zoning and improvement bylaw; that papers would enactment manus successful manus with the authoritative program if it's adopted by council.

Some astatine the nationalist gathering questioned wherefore zoning amendments weren't addressed earlier the metropolis asked for nationalist feedback connected a draught of the authoritative plan.

"One of the measurements radical are asking for is however the peculiar zoning relates to this conceptual overarching plan. That's however it is going to beryllium judged, and I deliberation possibly it has been a mistake to abstracted the 2 elements," said Brian Gillis, who lives successful the city.

"Two large items I spot successful the program I person interest for are the beardown accent connected corridors and what I americium inactive trying to grapple with is the conception of a node arsenic an municipality plan feature,"

Others astatine the gathering were successful afloat enactment of the draught program arsenic is.

"We person 1 of the lowest rental vacancy rates successful the full country. This has made it a situation to determination to, fto unsocial enactment successful Charlottetown.

"We've benignant of seen the consequences of that implicit the past twelvemonth successful particular, wherever a bully fig of young radical person near the Island. In fact, much person near the Island successful the past twelvemonth than person moved to Charlottetown," said Matt Pelletier, vice-president of Fusion Charlottetown, an advocacy radical for young adults successful P.E.I's superior region.

The draught plan's absorption connected expanding lodging density volition assistance immoderate of those issues Pelletier outlined, helium said.

"As written, the draught program takes immoderate truly important steps relating to improving lodging successful residential areas, on large corridors and astatine large intersections and importantly allowing for higher bid apartments adjacent UPEI, Holland College and adjacent the Queen Elizabeth Hospital."

Charlottetown nonmigratory Ryan Pineau, who described himself arsenic a YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), agreed with Pelletier that the program should determination ahead.

"I consciousness this program achieves that successful presumption of backfilling and adding immoderate density into the metropolis that is truly needed," said Pineau.

He knows immoderate radical person an unfavourable sentiment of immoderate folks who unrecorded successful flat buildings, but notes that's portion of a travel successful galore people's lives, helium said.

"Before I purchased a single-family location connected Mount Edward Road I lived successful an flat building. It was an eight-unit connected Doncaster. And I don't deliberation I oregon immoderate different residents of that flat were immoderate lesser radical than radical who unrecorded successful single-family homes," Pineau said.

Incentive for secondary suites

The draught authoritative program suggests "gentle infill" successful residential areas, which encourages expanding lodging density successful the metropolis done secondary suites and semi-detached dwellings.

"There is simply a batch of absorption connected the summation successful lodging due to the fact that of the summation successful demand, but we besides person to look astatine adding secondary and plot suites successful existing neighbourhoods to supply much affordable rental homes," Brown said.

The metropolis plans to promote that improvement by offering location owners $10,000 to adhd those accessory dwellings to their properties.

"We could make up to 1,700 further units," Brown said.

There were immoderate mistakes successful the projected zoning successful the maps attached to the draught plan, with immoderate parks marked for development. City officials said these errors volition beryllium corrected.

The nationalist feedback from the gathering volition present beryllium reviewed by the city's readying committee earlier the last mentation of the program is presented to assembly for a vote. The program besides needs to beryllium signed disconnected by the province.