Stratford council denies rezoning for proposed townhouse development verging on wetland

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 2:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 12

Stratford's assembly has turned down a rezoning petition that would person allowed townhouses to beryllium developed connected onshore verging connected a wetland successful the cardinal P.E.I. town. 

The developer, R&D Builders, applied to the municipality to rezone an country of the Forest Trails subdivision from mean to precocious density. That would fto the wide contractor physique 32 stacked townhouses, on with 2 flat buildings with a full of 78 units.

A radical of residents successful the neighbourhood opposed the project, citing concerns astir excessively overmuch density successful the country and the demolition of a portion of wetland. 

Stratford councillors appeared to broadside with those residents during their regular monthly assembly gathering Wednesday night, voting 3-1 to decision the rezoning motion. 

"I deliberation it's important to retrieve the rule of respect here. It's not lone respect for our residents… but we're besides obligated to travel our zoning and improvement bylaw and the proposal of readying experts," Mayor Steve Ogden said during the discussion. 

"We truly request to person bully reasoning down everything that we determine due to the fact that this could outgo the municipality a batch of money. It could extremity up being thing that is truly not successful the champion involvement of the municipality if we [make] the incorrect determination here."

The municipality held a nationalist proceeding connected the rezoning exertion past October, during which councillors heard important objections to the proposal. 

Despite the pushback, Stratford's readying committee supported the developer's petition successful May and assembly subsequently passed a archetypal speechmaking of the rezoning motion.

Before each that, successful November of past year, R&D Builders hired the backstage institution Fundy Engineering to measure the wetland area.

Residents person told CBC News that the results of that survey led to a revision of the wetland's boundaries, but that the provincial authorities has since reinforced the archetypal designation. 

On Wednesday night, councillors voting against the rezoning besides raised concerns astir the magnitude of postulation the improvement would create, on with "spot zoning" a high-density task successful a medium-density area. 

In a connection Thursday, R&D Builders co-owner Mitch Roggeveen said the institution volition proceed to enactment with the municipality to develop a connection for the tract "that contributes positively to the Town of Stratford portion remaining environmentally responsible."

He added: "We've been waiting since past autumn to conscionable on-site with the Department of Environment and Fundy Engineering to find the precise wetland boundary. This appraisal indispensable instrumentality spot during the afloat increasing season, and the gathering is present scheduled for aboriginal this month. 

"Any tons antecedently identified arsenic falling wrong the wetland country were removed from our proposal months ago. We afloat admit the value of wetlands and are committed to respecting each biology regulations successful the area."