Fredericton council adopts 4-unit policy after heckling from residents

Aidan Cox · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 7:04 AM EDT | Last Updated: 17 minutes ago

Fredericton assembly voted Monday to follow arguable and wide zoning changes, but not earlier Mayor Kate Rogers threatened members of the nationalist with removal from assembly chambers if they continued heckling.

She was speaking to much than 70 radical who filled the assemblage for council's last ballot connected changes successful the zoning bylaw that volition let up to 4 units connected residential tons crossed the city.

"I allowed you to clap, but I volition not let you to boo, and the adjacent idiosyncratic who boos, I volition inquire the information defender to region you," Rogers said. 

Rogers's informing came aft Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc spoke successful favour of the changes.

"Single-family zoning, from wherever I'm sitting arsenic a 32-year-old who's grown up successful this metropolis and loves this city, is costly and inefficient astatine best, and exclusionary and discriminatory astatine worst," LeBlanc said earlier the assemblage erupted in boos.

"I've received a lasting ovation," LeBlanc said after. "Now I've received a boo. I deliberation I've done everything connected council."

The changes changes allow up to 4 units connected residential lots, up from the erstwhile bounds of conscionable two, crossed astir of the metropolis — taxable to batch frontage and size requirements.

The ballot came aft astir an hr of impassioned comments by some councillors who spoke at magnitude astir wherefore they supported the changes.

"Fredericton has a large shortage of rental units," said Coun. Jocelyn Pike, noting the vacancy complaint was 0.9 per cent arsenic of past fall.

"Demanding that metropolis neighbourhoods beryllium preserved successful perpetuity for the fortunate fewer who unrecorded successful them is shortsighted astatine champion and discriminatory astatine worst."

The gathering besides heard from councillors against the proposal, including Bruce Grandy, Steve Hicks and Eric Megarity — the lone 3 who voted no.

Change agreed to successful 2023

The alteration was a central part of a suite of initiatives the metropolis agreed to successful 2023 a conditions for receiving $10.3 cardinal nether the national government's Housing Accelerator Fund.

Fredericton and different cities crossed Canada were allowed to pat into the $4 cardinal fund, but lone if they loosened zoning rules to let up to 4 units on a residential metropolis lot.

In Fredericton's case, metropolis planners came up with a connection they considered to beryllium a gentler attack to gathering the condition.

WATCH | 4-unit homes allowed crossed the city? Don't expect question of caller housing, experts say:

Rather than marque amendments that would let homes to beryllium razed and replaced with buildings containing 4 identical units, the spot owers tin lone instrumentality vantage of the zoning changes by creating accessory dwelling units successful a home.

A location volition person to incorporate a larger superior dwelling unit, with up to 3 smaller accessory units, specified arsenic a basement apartment, in-law suite, or store loft.

While a homeowner volition nary longer request to use for a zoning amendment to adhd the units, they will still request to use for a gathering permit.

Forced by 'out of touch' national government, councillor says

Of the councillors who opposed the change, a interest was that the request lacked sensitivity to the circumstances of idiosyncratic cities.

"These decisions are being made by a bureaucracy that is retired of interaction with what municipalities are facing," Grandy said earlier the vote.

"They overgarment each municipality with a azygous brush, not taking into relationship that each municipality is not the same."

The 3 nay-voters besides pointed to the national backing that hung successful the equilibrium if assembly voted against it, with Megarity calling it a "dramatic incursion into municipal readying authority."

At a erstwhile meeting, metropolis unit informed assembly that if the connection didn't spell ahead, the metropolis would not person fractional of the $10.3 cardinal inactive to beryllium paid retired by Ottawa implicit the adjacent 2 years.

Another $61.3 cardinal successful national wealth rested connected council's support of the zoning changes, arsenic this was besides a request for tapping into the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.

"Municipalities tin physique the indispensable work infrastructure that we're precise bully astatine but should not beryllium enactment into presumption to alteration well-designed readying directions based connected a cookie-cutter argumentation attack being imposed by the national authorities done backing threats," Megarity said.

Last-minute tweaks

Before the last vote, councillors approved 2 tweaks to the caller rules.

The archetypal amendment, enactment guardant by Grandy, prevents secondary dwelling units from being converted into short-term rental accommodations.

The 2nd amendment, introduced by Coun. Ruth Breen, requires that a homeowner inhabit the location for astatine slightest a twelvemonth earlier being capable to use for a gathering licence to make much than 1 secondary dwelling unit.

Planning manager Ken Forrest said the metropolis is capable to trust connected New Brunswick spot records to verify whether an proprietor has successful information lived successful a location for astatine slightest a year.

"So it's an casual mode for america to monitor that, and there's a commencement day to that," Forrest said. "So it's precise effectual and simple from the city's position to marque definite that that request is met."