PORT HAWKESBURY: Town council voiced its support for a plan to develop more housing in the town.
During the regular monthly meeting on April 6, Port Hawkesbury Town Council was unanimous in backing a proposal from Town Councillor Jason Aucoin to rezone properties owned by the town to allow for mini or micro-homes.
Aucoin suggested there are a few portions of land that could be designated for smaller homes, and be potentially pre-sold.
“There’s been some discussion among council and I wanted to bring it to the public meeting tonight, of taking the opportunity of looking at parcels of land that the town owns and rezoning a new subdivision where we could sell lots for new mini-homes, and potentially micro-homes,” he said. “We would try to pre-sell some lots before putting a cul-de-sac in, or a new subdivision. Try to sell a number of lots to make sure that it’s feasible. Once that’s complete, we would designate one part of the new subdivision for newer mini-homes… Designate two different areas in the subdivision for two different types of homes.”
Aucoin said this would be a great way to open up housing opportunities in a town with a vacancy rate well below one per cent.
“It opens up some more area to put new homes, and it shows people that we’re serious about wanting to grow this town, we’re willing to look outside the box, try to come up with creative ways to take advantage of the space we have, and make it more affordable,” Aucoin said. “This would be another option for some of our seniors who are looking to downsize, get rid of the big homes and have a single level unit. And I see it also as a chance for some people who currently have mini-homes in the town, but would like to have their own property; a chance for them to sell those homes, buy new ones, and it would open up the housing market for more people to move into the area.”
In response to a question from Deputy Mayor Blaine MacQuarrie, Aucoin said there are a “few areas” he discussed with Chief Administrative Officer Terry Doyle.
“Before we could make that decision, we would have to go out and do a site visit; see where the easiest access is, the most logical access point for this potential development,” he said. “Terry showed me today some bigger pieces of property that we have available to the town.”
MacQuarrie said the town has to explore options.
“We have a dire housing shortage here in Port Hawkesbury, and to look at these types of options, I think that we should be certainly willing to explore them and give them serious consideration,” he stated.
Like Town Councillor Hughie MacDougall, Town Councillor Mark MacIver suggested the town could advertise for expressions of interest.
“I know we have properties that are already sold for this,” he noted. “If we could advertise and see if we have an interest of people owning their own properties to put their mini-homes, or tiny homes on. That would give us an indication of what lands to look at, also to look at the cost of water and sewer, and putting the street in, and everything. If we had that number, it would be easier to make the decision.”
CAO Terry Doyle told council they are looking at potential sites that are already zoned for this type of use. Because it is “early” in the project, he said this is a good time to look at their options.
“There is some property that is zoned for this use. Most of the property that we have to consider is not zoned so there will have to be a consideration for rezoning,” he said. “We’re looking at potential sites that we own right now ourselves, looking at the costs of developing those sites, and the return on investment for developing that site. If all that works, then we look at the zoning requirements, and if council wishes to proceed with rezoning of a piece of property or utilizing existing property that’s zoned for that.”
Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton added that the town will keep this plan on its radar.