Facing heated questions, P.E.I. government pauses tiny-home project in Miltonvale Park

Ryan McKellop · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 12:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

The P.E.I. authorities is pausing its program to make a tiny-home improvement successful the municipality of Miltonvale Park, conscionable extracurricular Charlottetown.

That program includes upwards of 200 tiny location units — typically defined arsenic little than 500 quadrate feet but containing accepted kitchens and bathrooms — to spell connected 65 acres of onshore the state owns connected Sleepy Hollow Road, past the Provincial Correctional Centre.

The state applied to the Rural Municipality of Miltonvale Park precocious for a licence for the archetypal 62 units.

Announced successful February, the tiny-home improvement is simply a collaboration betwixt the state and the Construction Association of P.E.I., with Holland College students and apprentices gaining acquisition gathering the homes portion helping Islanders listed connected the societal lodging registry.

In the legislature Wednesday, Liberal Opposition Leader Hal Perry said the authorities failed to consult section residents successful District 15 astir the project.

"Islanders enactment gathering much housing, but they besides expect unfastened connection and liable decision-making," Perry said.

"What process did your authorities travel successful deciding to make 65 acres successful Sleepy Hollow and however were residents engaged earlier the determination was made?"

Premier Rob Lantz responded: "We've heard immoderate concerns from the community. We're consenting to enactment with the communities, truthful that it's a improvement that everybody tin each beryllium arrogant of."

"But that's not happening successful District 15," Perry said. "This is simply a 65-acre improvement that could adhd hundreds of homes, truthful wherefore are we proceeding from dozens of residents who accidental your authorities failed to consult oregon listen?" 

Housing, Land and Communities Minister Steven Myers changeable back, saying that it's "categorically false" to accidental the authorities was not listening to feedback. 

"We've paused development; we're going backmost to incorporated the feedback that we've received," helium said.

"This is precisely however a authorities should beryllium run. Take note, due to the fact that erstwhile you guys sat implicit here, you didn't bash immoderate of that stuff," Myers added.

'A land-use issue'

Perry said this is not conscionable a transparency issue.

"It's a land-use issue. This authorities has earned a failing people connected that for the past six years. This onshore was progressive farmland; present it's being converted into residential sprawl," helium said, referring to the information that cultivation acreage is becoming much expensive as farms springiness mode to housing developments.

"To the curate of agriculture: You're a farmer, wherefore are you sitting backmost portion farmland is taken retired of accumulation to marque mode for different sprawling development. Doesn't this interest you?"

Agriculture Minister Bloyce Thompson replied by saying helium supports protecting farmland crossed the Island but colonisation maturation brings the request for much housing.

"It's a equilibrium present that we person to beryllium precise due-diligent astir and I'll enactment protecting arsenic overmuch farmland connected this Island arsenic possible," Thompson replied.

Perry didn't agree, calling that a atrocious answer.

"How tin you assertion to support farmland, past crook astir and pave implicit it?" helium asked. "How bash you warrant reducing P.E.I.'s cultivation onshore basal astatine a clip erstwhile the nonaccomplishment of farmland is 1 of the biggest concerns facing Island farmers?" 

Thompson said he's looking guardant to a caller aviator task to support farmland.

"We are moving with the curate of land, communities and lodging to support this farmland," Thompson said. "We've discussed this with the Federation of Agriculture, they're excited astir this, we're doing a aviator task successful Belfast this year."

Cost and information questions raised

On different point, Perry said the state has not stated however overmuch the Miltonvale Park improvement is going to cost.

"What is the full projected outgo of the Sleepy Hollow development, including infrastructure, attraction and services, and however has that been communicated with the public?" 

Lantz did not reply the question, but mentioned that the property inquestion has been zoned residential for years.

"This was a spot that we identified astatine the tallness of the lodging situation present arsenic a improvement wherever we would situate affordable-type homes, that missing-middle benignant of home, wherever we could supply a merchandise for radical to get into the lodging market," helium said.

"This was a imaginativeness to assistance code portion of the lodging marketplace that's lacking successful this state and this was thing that we made a committedness to put successful for that purpose."

Perry again said the contented is astir sprawl, adding that Sleepy Hollow Road already has information concerns.

"The contented isn't astir gathering much houses; it's astir sprawling arsenic opposed to density, which is protecting our land," helium said.

"Sleepy Hollow Road already has information concerns and we cognize that. To the premier: Will you perpetrate to upgrading the road, including paving and shoulders, earlier this improvement goes ahead, and person residents been fixed immoderate assurances this is going to beryllium happening?"

Myers pushed back, saying the country is nether the City of Charlottetown's jurisdiction. 

"Not lone is this a portion of onshore successful Charlottetown, the roads beryllium to Charlottetown, the upgrades beryllium to the City of Charlottetown," helium said. 

"We conscionable gave them much wealth successful their caller statement with the City of Charlottetown. They're much than susceptible of making these decisions," Myers added.

"For us, we travel the process that was laid retired successful beforehand of us. There's ne'er 1 clip we didn't travel the process. It's them who holds the nationalist meetings, not us. It's them who person the feedback and… we've incorporated the feedback into it."