PORT HAWKESBURY: The public gallery had many questions for town council.
During a special meeting of Port Hawkesbury Town Council on May 26, multiple residents raised concerns with proposals to rezone lots in the Grant’s Pond Subdivision on MacLaughlin Drive, as well as the undeveloped land off Spruce Street. There were also issues raised over allowing multiple accessory dwelling units in some parts of the town.
After council agreed to give first reading and set a date for a public meeting to allow a Craft Beverage Facility to operate in Granville Street, and Town Councillor Blaine MacQuarrie declared a conflict and left the meeting, Eastern District Planning Commission Director John Bain said the lack of housing was a consideration in permitting more Accessory Dwelling Units in some parts of the town.
“It’s an acute problem,” he told council.
Bain said this type of rezoning has already been done successfully in communities like St. Peter’s and Antigonish, with restrictions on the size, location, and number of bedrooms to ensure they are secondary dwellings.
“Right now, accessory dwelling units in the town, are only permitted inside the house… if your home is in the R-2 Zone,” stated Bain. “The amendment is looking at the possibility of expanding; so that somebody could still have two units, but one of those units could either be in a garage suite or a loft over a garage, or a small building in the back of a house.”
In response to a question from Deputy Mayor Jason Aucoin, Bain said parking spaces are a requirement for adding dwelling units, and in response to another question from Town Councillor Hughie MacDougall, Bain said there are size restrictions on apartments constructed above garages.
Town Councillor Mark MacIver asked for more clarification from the EDPC on the restrictions.
“You can put a bedroom, and washroom, and a kitchenette in a pretty small building today. I have concerns maybe with one, or two, or three of these on a lot,” he told council. “Over the garage units, I thought for years we had restrictions on height for garages, and I think not long ago we approved a minor variance. I just wonder how this is all going to affect that. Parking is an issue. We have some absentee landlords right now that are renting bedrooms with five vehicles maybe stuck over the lawn into the driveway. We’re having issues with unsightly properties taking a lone time to get them cleaned up. With absentee landlords there doesn’t seem to be much care in the properties.”
Bain acknowledged more work could be done on the amendments, but replied that no more than two units will be allowed on each property, and one in each residence, if this rezoning proceeds. He said the only exclusion is if a family member is residing in a residence.
There was even more debate when discussions centred around changing the Residential Single–Unit (R-1) Zone to the Residential Two-Unit (R-2) Zone for lots in the Grant’s Pond Subdivision on MacLaughlin Drive, as well as the undeveloped land off Spruce Street.
Bain said the amendments are “straight forward” and will not decrease property values. He said absentee landlords and parking are separate issues.
“The R-1 Zone is an antiquated land use control that everybody else is getting rid of,” Bain told council. “For the most part, all of those properties are already well developed… It will allow people to put apartments, and if the other amendment goes, do Garden or Granny Suites.”
MacDougall said traffic flow in those parts of the town has already increased, and he questioned if such changes would decrease property values.
“When you take a sport like Grant’s Pond, or out in the new sub-division, the transportation there now, the traffic, it’s ungodly to the way it used to be,” he noted. “I blame Reeves Street also because people are going down that because of Reeves Street; I know they are.”
MacIver said he will not support the existing proposal.
“I never heard any issues about MacLaughlin Drive, I did have a number of emails, phone calls, and concerns about Grant’s Pond. And also the vacant lands off Spruce Street, questions being asked what was our plans, and what was our layout for that part of the sub-division,” he stated. “Because it’s all one proposal, I think we may have jumped the gun a little bit and we may need some work on the vacant lands off Spruce Street.”
Noting that the rezoning will not result in parking issues, Aucoin said the town needs to grow, but council is now being stopped by negative emails containing “false information” and “accusations.”
“A group of people have gotten people riled up; it’s strictly emotion,” he stated. “By not allowing this, we’re going exactly against what we’ve said, for the last 17 months.”
Without a bylaw enforcement officer, MacDougall and MacIver said it will be hard to rezone, especially in the Grant’s Pond area where there’s little space for parking.
After the discussion, council decided to send the proposed amendments to the Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw back to the Planning Advisory Committee.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, which featured a full public gallery, several residents took to the podium during the public question period to voice their opposition to some of the rezoning plans.
One resident of Crandall Drive asked if there was a business case for the rezoning, which he called a “slippery slope” because the town is already “over congested.” He said he bought his property and has remained there because of the privacy of a single-unit zone, and he questioned whether it would negatively impact property values.
“The R-1 Zone and R-2 Zone, they’re so close. It’s not a major amendment,” Bain responded. “The R-2 Zone in the rest of the town works really well. I live in the R-2 Zone.”
Calling the rezoning “premature,” another resident asked if the current road network, water and sewer system, drainage and geological conditions, as well as other impacts on residents, were considered.
“If we’re going to allow tiny homes, you’d have a cul-de-sac just for tiny homes, that’s it. If we were going to allow mobile homes, we’d have them in a cul-de-sac by themselves, with buffers,” MacIver replied.
In response to a question from a third resident who also said he enjoys his privacy, Bain said these proposed amendments do not impact deed covenants, and the only remedy for property owners is through legal action.
“The municipality doesn’t enforce deed covenants, district planning doesn’t enforce deed covenants,” Bain responded. “In your area, if there were deed covenants that stopped somebody from buying the house and not living in it, I suspect that that’s not valid.”
The last resident to speak, who lives in Grant’s Pond, asked council about potential traffic implications from these redevelopments, noting the current dangerous situation with no sidewalks in some areas for pedestrians, and increased high speed traffic from those avoiding Reeves Street.
After selling three lots in the town last year well under market value, CAO Terry Doyle said the town was still unable to stimulate more housing growth. He added mixed use zones can help with the housing shortage.
“There’s been a ton of discussion around this table about trying to sell property and trying to get developers into this area,” he added. “As we all know, we haven’t had any new builds in Port Hawkesbury in quite some time and we need to do something to change that. We know the demand is there, we just don’t know how to get there.”