Nearly $70M on the line if council rejects allowing 4-unit homes across Fredericton

Aidan Cox · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Close to $70 million in authorities grants could beryllium pulled disconnected the array if Fredericton councillors reject changes to let astir homes successful the metropolis to beryllium divided up into 4 abstracted units.

The scuttled backing could effect successful the metropolis needing to perchance rise spot taxes, arsenic good as the fees it charges for h2o and sewer to wage for infrastructure upgrades it says are needed to accommodate much homes.

"The city's Housing Accelerator [Fund] exertion laid retired a bid of initiatives that we would effort and instrumentality — immoderate of those are infrastructure investments, truthful investments we'd marque successful pipes and roads to facilitate residential development," said readying manager Ken Forrest, speaking Monday nighttime aft the regular Fredericton council meeting.

"So determination would beryllium impacts there."

Forrest spoke to councillors astir a study helium and different unit prepared that laid retired the fiscal implications if assembly votes against a zoning bylaw amendment that would let homes successful the metropolis to beryllium turned into 4 abstracted units, taxable to batch size requirements.

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The existent bounds for astir homes is 2 units, and homeowners are required to archetypal get a zoning amendment if they privation to make much units.

The national authorities required the metropolis to prosecute the zoning bylaw changes arsenic a information for receiving a portion of the $4 cardinal Housing Accelerator Fund.

Several different Canadian municipalities person signed up for the aforesaid fund, on with the information they make akin zoning changesm which are designed to make it easier for spot owners to make much housing.

However, the amendments ultimately travel down to a ballot by councillors. At a gathering earlier this month, council heard from a contingent of residents strongly opposed to the changes.

Councillors would have had a last ballot connected the projected zoning changes Monday, but astatine the earlier meeting, they deferred the vote to springiness unit clip to hole a study outlining the fiscal implications of rejecting them.

Rejection could necessitate instrumentality of immoderate money

In December 2023, Fredericton struck a woody to person $10.3 cardinal from the Housing Accelerator Fund, with wealth earmarked for infrastructure upgrades, arsenic good arsenic for grants for non-profit and backstage lodging developers who planned to physique affordable units.

The metropolis received its archetypal of 4 $2.6 cardinal instalments successful 2023, and its 2nd conscionable past month, with the 3rd and 4th to beryllium doled retired implicit the adjacent 2 years.

However, if councillors cull the zoning changes, the past 2 instalments would beryllium cancelled, and the 2nd mightiness person to beryllium paid back.

"Summarized, it has been assumed that the City would request to allocate $7,705,589 of City backing to honour its assemblage and municipal commitments," unit accidental successful their report.

$61.3M astatine hazard with infrastructure fund

While the zoning changes mightiness person been primitively pursued due to the fact that of requirements acceptable for the Housing Accelerator Fund, the alteration is besides being required of cities hoping to pat into an adjacent bigger national fund.

The $6 cardinal Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund allows municipalities to use for grants that assistance them upgrade roads, h2o and sewer lines and different amenities needed to accommodate the maturation successful the fig of lodging units.

Fredericton has submitted 2 applications totalling $84 cardinal nether that program, which would effect successful a combined $61.3 cardinal successful assistance wealth flowing from the national and provincial governments, aft the city's publication of 27 per cent of each project's cost.

One of those is simply a $29.9 cardinal task to instal h2o and sewer lines, a caller booster station, caller reservoir and upgraded assistance presumption to make caller subdivisions successful the Doak Road area.

"That's a important concern successful bid to commencement to make successful that area," Forrest said.

"So there's a ample backing exertion successful determination that is benignant of the pre-development investments that are indispensable to unlock that country for astir 7,000 people."

Other projects the metropolis hopes to undertake utilizing that money see infrastructure upgrades successful the Brown Boulevard area, arsenic good arsenic "major investments to code issues astatine the Garden Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility and h2o proviso needs" successful the Liane Street area.

Without the funding, the metropolis would person to concern about $17.6 cardinal of the enactment done its wide superior fund, which  would necessitate stretching the enactment retired implicit 12 years. Alternatively, the metropolis could get the wealth while raising the taxation complaint by 1.4 cents per twelvemonth for 20 years.

The remaining $51.4 cardinal successful projects the metropolis wants to undertake would request to beryllium financed done the h2o and sewer superior fund, a outgo that would necessitate borrowing wealth to wage for.

To wage for it, the metropolis would either person to summation the h2o and sewer transportation interest by $224 annually for 20 years, oregon summation the consumption-based rates by 18.35 per cent per twelvemonth for 20 years.

"There are important abbreviated and semipermanent fiscal impacts related to this determination that volition interaction existent and aboriginal budgets totalling somewhat much than $69 million," unit say, successful their report.

Council's ballot connected whether to o.k. the projected zoning bylaw changes volition beryllium made astatine its gathering connected April 14.