Phinney votes no as Tantramar council approves $200K to fix flood control glitch

Posted on August 9, 2023 by brucewark

Councillor Bruce Phinney

Tantramar Councillor Bruce Phinney says he’d like to know who’s responsible for an an apparent error that will cost municipal taxpayers an extra $206,050.

“I have to be honest right up front, I’m very upset about this,” Phinney said during last night’s council meeting.

“I’d like to find out who is responsible for this oversight if it’s possible.”

He explained that he could not in good conscience vote to allocate the more than $200,000 in extra funds needed before the final phase of the Lorne Street flood control project can be completed.

Town Engineer Jon Eppell had recommended that council allocate the money over the next couple of years.

It will be used to pay Ducks Unlimited Canada for the costs of restoring, enhancing or creating 6.34 hectares (15.66 acres) of wetlands to compensate for losses when contractors dig a big stormwater retention pond behind the community gardens on Charles Street later this year.

Project could ‘grind to a halt‘

“Just so council is clear. If we don’t come up with a wetland compensation plan that we can present to environment, the project is going to grind to a halt,” Eppell said in response to Phinney’s comments.

He was referring to wetland compensation rules or ratios imposed by the provincial department of the environment.

“I’ve been told verbally, I have not seen it in writing, that the new ratios of [wetland] compensation came into effect in 2020,” Eppell said.

However, Sackville applied for about $4 million in federal and provincial money for the final phase of the Lorne Street project the year before — in 2019. The town resubmitted its application in January 2021 and the money finally came through in March 2022.

The next month, in April 2022, Sackville Town Council authorized the mayor to sign a $485,000 contract with the engineering firm Englobe (formerly Crandall engineering) to design the project. It’s the same firm that oversaw Phases I and II of the project.

When Sackville received the cost-shared money for Phase III, it seems no one realized that the province had changed the rules on wetland conservation two years before.

No additional money

Town Engineer Jon Eppell

Eppell, who did not become town engineer until August 2022, says in a perfect world, Englobe would have noticed the change, but even if it had, there were no additional funds available from the other levels of government and so, Tantramar will have to shoulder the additional cost on its own.

At last night’s meeting, Councillor Michael Tower said the extra bill for flood control left “a bad taste” in his mouth.

“But I also agree with Mr. Eppell that we want this project finished. The Isthmus is 10-years away,” he added referring to plans to reinforce dykes on the strip of land between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

“If we’re going to try to delay things,” he said, “we could pay for it with all this rain we’ve been getting, but missing.”

When the vote was called on allocating the extra money for wetland compensation, only Councillor Phinney voted against it.

For more information from the Nature Trust of New Brunswick on wetlands and the provincial rules that govern them, click here.

Posted in Environment, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 4 Comments

Sackville flood control project hits $200K snag

Posted on August 4, 2023 by brucewark

Land behind Sackville community gardens where a flood control pond is to be dug later this year

Tantramar Town Council will be asked to approve allocating an extra $206,050 next week to replace wetlands that will be lost or disturbed in completing the final phase of Sackville’s Lorne Street flood control project.

The money would likely come out of next year’s municipal budget. It would be used to enlist the professional services of Ducks Unlimited Canada in restoring, enhancing or creating 6.34 hectares (15.66 acres) of wetlands to compensate for losses when contractors dig a large stormwater retention pond behind the community gardens on Charles Street later this year.

In background documents prepared for the next council meeting on August 8th, Town Engineer Jon Eppell writes that the provincial environment department will not issue a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration (WAWA) permit for the flood control work until it receives a plan to compensate for wetland losses.

He adds that Ducks Unlimited is willing to undertake the ownership and responsibility for 6.34 hectares of wetland compensation at the standard cost of $32,500 per hectare. That would include the provision of needed lands, development of the project, construction, monitoring and reporting to New Brunswick’s environment department.

The council background documents include a letter from Englobe, the Moncton engineering firm that is overseeing completion of the flood control project.

The letter, signed by project manager Andy Caldwell, says that engaging the professional services of Ducks Unlimited would be much cheaper than if the municipality undertook wetland compensation on its own.

Caldwell also writes that municipal wetland compensation would significantly delay completion of the Lorne Street project while plans were designed and studies conducted.

Meantime, Sackville resident Percy Best, who has been a persistent critic of the flood control project, wonders why engineers at Englobe did not anticipate the costs of wetland compensation.

“The assigned money for the federal-provincial-municipal cost-shared project has presumably all been designated now, so it is like ‘BOING’, guess what, here is an additional bill that Pierre Plourde at Englobe definitely should have informed the town of before the job went to tender,” Best writes in an e-mail to Warktimes.

“If the Ducks Unlimited cost was known before tendering, then the contract to Beale & Inch should have been for a lesser amount so that there would be enough cost-shared funds to cover ALL the bills,” he adds.

“Without it being included, I think 100% of the cost will come directly from the Town’s future budget.”

Update on flood project

Ditch stops just short of dyke where plans call for a new provincially funded aboiteau to drain stormwater into the Tantramar River at low tide

Meantime, Beale & Inch construction workers have completed the section of ditch that will drain storm water through a new aboiteau into the Tantramar River.

Earlier, they installed culverts under Crescent Street and are now working on finishing installation of the ones under Sloan Drive.

According to the latest update from the town, tentative plans call for Sloan to re-open sometime next week while the repaving of both Crescent and Sloan will begin on August 14th, the same day that Charles Street will close for installation of culverts to conduct stormwater from the first retention pond south of St. James Street to the one to be dug behind the community gardens.

For an overview of the flood control project, click on the Englobe diagram below to enlarge it.

New water retention pond, ditches and culvert crossings

Posted in Environment, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 9 Comments

What if they held a public hearing & nobody came?

Posted on July 29, 2023 by brucewark

Mayor Black getting set to conclude public hearing

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black seemed uncertain about how to proceed Tuesday when no one showed up for a public hearing on the once highly contentious issue of allowing more drive-thru restaurants near Sackville’s two highway exits.

Town Planner Lori Bickford gave a seven minute presentation outlining design standards to alleviate any increased traffic congestion more drive-thrus might bring.

Then Black noted that no members of the public had shown up to speak for or against the proposal to lift the ban on more drive-thrus that has been in effect for 22 years.

“I guess, I guess that’s it. I think that concludes the public hearing,” he said as he looked out at about 50 empty chairs in the audience section of the council chamber.

Design standards

However, Black then asked Lori Bickford to explain how she came up with design standards that would require at least 11 spaces for vehicles heading into a new drive-thru and two for ones heading out of it.

The new standards would require a traffic study, paid for by the developer, if fewer queuing spaces were provided or if the expected number of drive-thru trips would be more than 40 vehicles-per-hour during peak periods.

Town Planner Lori Bickford speaks about new design standards for drive-thrus near the hwy

Bickford explained that she had consulted town staff including the CAO and town engineer and had also looked at drive-thru rules in other municipalities.

The new standards would also require a general traffic study for any new fast food restaurants or coffee shops, retail stores or gas stations/convenience marts that would generate what Bickford described in her background paper as “more than 100 additional peak hour trips” near the highway exits.

After Bickford’s answer, Black announced “that concludes the public hearing,” before noticing that Councillor Michael Tower had something to say.

‘Sustainability plan’

“Just for clarity, we do have two that we classify as public when it comes to questions,” Tower said referring to the Warktimes and CHMA reporters in the room.

He wondered if the reporters might be permitted to ask clarifying questions and after Black agreed, I asked about the reference to Sackville’s “sustainability plan” in Bickford’s background paper:

“Does that make it OK or more OK to have idling in a drive-thru because the town has taken steps to offset it?” I asked.

Mayor Black replied that while the town does have the power to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions, it has no way of doing that for drive-thrus.

“We don’t really have anything other than limiting drive-thrus from town. We don’t have any anti-idling bylaws. We can’t force people to not idle in town,” he explained before referring the question to Bickford.

“That’s correct,” she answered.

“In the past,” she said, “the town had explored the potential to incorporate an anti-idling bylaw that would apply throughout the town. However, provincial legislation did not allow for that to happen.”

Latest drive-thru proposal

Pizza Delight on Mallard Dr.

The proposed bylaw changes were drafted after the numbered company that owns the Pizza Delight building on Mallard Drive applied for a drive-thru there.

In a submission supporting the zoning change, 734163 NB Inc., notes that the Pizza Delight building has been vacant for a while.

“We have been trying to partner with national/international franchise brands that have indicated [they would] be more interested in a drive-thru facility,” the submission adds.

“Based on the history of inquiries made on the property, there have been a number of famous brands that lost their interest for not having an essential facility of Drive-thru.”

One public comment

During her presentation to council on Tuesday, Lori Bickford noted that the town had not received any written comments in response to its notices about the public hearing.

However yesterday, former Sackville councillor Sabine Dietz sent this e-mail to both Mayor Black and Lori Bickford after reading a CHMA report on the public hearing:

It is with dismay that I read CHMA’s story about the “public consultation” around a proposed by-law change regarding drive-thrus in Sackville.

I think the last public consultation on a by-law change a few weeks ago likely had something to do with the absolute lack of input from residents: it felt rather chilling to see the lack of discussion, and the way presenters were discouraged. No wonder we don’t feel it’s worth our time to provide any comment, since there are no real consultations happening.

As for the drive-thrus: there remain to be tons of arguments for and against them. And in this case, as with other zoning and by-law changes, it is not just “we will manage traffic”, that council should base their decision on. Council should be encouraged and indeed required to take a more holistic approach and consider all the interconnected issues around such a change. I am going to list just a few:

– people not getting out of the car, not moving = increased health issues such as obesity
– idling = greenhouse gas emissions (one could manage that)
– use of space (one could argue asphalt parking is as bad)
– what do we want our community to look and feel like: a community known for its highway fast-food places?
– increased traffic (e.g., on 540) = active transportation becomes harder to implement broadly

There are more, I am sure, but it takes a conversation and engagement to get them all out in the open and to weigh them. And they all form part of what council should consider, not just the narrow framing of managing traffic, and supporting businesses.

I think both a zoning by-law which was changed to permit building in a flood zone (as any risk manager would identify it, especially after seeing the 300+ mm of rainfall in certain locations in NS), as well as allowing more drive-thrus, are significant changes to how we, as residents, see our community develop; what kinds of risks we are willing to take; and what kinds of priorities we see for the future. These conversations should not happen under pressure from developers. They should be part of a comprehensive engagement around a new municipal plan, which needs to give residents an opportunity to reflect on what we want to see happen in the community.

And just to go on record, so you have at least one response to the proposed by-law change: without a comprehensive engagement around a new strategy for our community through a municipal planning process, I oppose making this significant by-law change.

Town Council is expected to discuss the proposed bylaw changes at its next meeting on August 8th.

To read Lori Bickford’s backgrounder on drive-thrus, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 10 Comments

NB Health dept. info shows growing shortage of family doctors

Posted on July 27, 2023 by brucewark

Health Minister Bruce Fitch signed the e-mail releasing the info on doctor vacancies. Photo: Stephen MacGillivray

A series of numerical tables obtained today from the New Brunswick Department of Health shows that the shortage of family doctors in the province appears to have grown steadily over the last two years.

The figures show that as of June 1, 2023 there were 131 vacant positions in the category General Practice/Family Medicine compared with 76 on October 1, 2021.

A note accompanying the tables says the count represents the number of positions available for recruitment in the province including vacancies, new available positions and positions that are not yet vacant, but where doctors have notified their health authorities they plan to retire or close their practices.

At the same time, the health department says that as of June 9, 2023, it knows of 73,942 New Brunswickers who do not have a primary care provider.

Warktimes received the figures today after requesting them last month under New Brunswick’s Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Charts show GP vacancies

GP-FM: Family Medicine – Community 
GP+ : Hospitalist, GP-Oncology support, GP-Geriatrics etc…
ER: Family doctors who work in emergency rooms.
The figures are broken down in the left column by health authority (Vitalité & Horizon) and health zone. Zone 1SE, for example, refers to Moncton and Southeastern N.B., which includes the Tantramar area.

The provincial health department provided 22 tables that chart monthly family physician vacancies. While the totals rise and fall, the overall trend shows a fairly steady increase:

January 1, 2022: 78 vacancies
June 1, 2022: 91.5
December 1, 2022: 94
January 1, 2023: 104
April 1, 2023: 112
June 1, 2023: 131

Warktimes also requested the total number of nurse practitioner vacancies in the province. As of April 30, 2023, Vitalité reported seven vacancies. The number listed for Horizon is 21, but it is undated. There was also one nurse practitioner vacancy in New Brunswick’s extra-mural program (EMP).

Doctor shortage in Sackville

As reported by CHMA, Dr. Catherine Johnston retired from her medical practice in June while Dr. Andrea Wall is taking another position in Moncton on August 4 leaving hundreds of their patients in the Sackville area without a family doctor.

During a public meeting last week, Dr. Richard Lemay, Horizon’s director of primary care in the Moncton region, outlined plans for a clinic at the Tantramar Community Health Centre near the hospital to care for some of their patients who need help most.

He said the clinic would start by offering medical care three days a week in September with plans to extend its services later.

For more details from CHMA’s Erica Butler, click here.

To view the charts and information Warktimes obtained from the health department, click here.

Posted in Health care | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Lafford in line for $1.1 million tax break on new Sackville bldg.

Posted on July 26, 2023 by brucewark

Kieran Miller

At its next meeting on August 8th, Tantramar Town Council will be asked to approve a 50% reduction in property taxes on the six storey, 71-unit apartment building that JN Lafford Realty is planning to build at 131 Main Street.

Council approved zoning changes to make the building possible at a special meeting on July 19th. John Lafford had applied for a tax rebate under Sackville’s Economic Development Incentive Program on July 13th.

Town staff calculate that the tax rebate would be worth $1,185,920.10 over 10 years based on the estimated $16.5 million cost of the new building.

Over the same 10-year period, the town would receive an equal amount ($1,185,920.10) in property tax revenues.

Kieran Miller, the town’s manager of corporate services, told council the incentive program, adopted by Sackville Town Council in March 2020, is meant to encourage developers to build locally.

“These types of incentives are intended to act as a catalyst for increased development activities in the community, which will in turn help attract further businesses, residents and employment,” she said.

Incentive program working

“I love this,” said Michael Tower the only councillor to speak about the proposed tax rebate.

“It shows that the incentive program is working like it’s supposed to,” he added.

“We want development and this is definitely an encouragement to have a really beautiful building built.”

Tower acknowledged the 10-year delay in taxing the property at its full assessed value, but said the town would receive revenue from various permits as well as water and sewage payments.

“It helps us with residential and increases our overall development and may encourage others to come in,” he said.

How are incentives justified?

Mayor Black

Later during the public question period, Mayor Black was asked how the nearly $1.2 million tax subsidy could be justified given that the developer has been given approval to build on a prime location overlooking the Sackville Waterfowl Park at a time when rental vacancy rates are low and there are long waiting lists for apartments.

“How can you justify that kind of expenditure that may be totally unnecessary as an incentive when that money could go to non-profit housing or some other kind of scheme to help out with your rental problems in this town,” I asked.

“The incentive program is there and he (John Lafford) has applied for it,” Black replied.

When pressed further on how he would justify such a large expenditure, Black answered that council hasn’t approved it yet.

“So we haven’t justified it yet,” he said.

“That decision will come when it comes to a motion in council. Maybe there’ll be discussion then. Maybe people will have their own thoughts about whether they want to pass it or not.”

Previous misgivings

When Sackville Town Council was considering the incentive program on March 2, 2020, then-Councillor Bill Evans expressed his misgivings about it.

“The risk that we are exposing ourselves to is that a developer who would normally build a multi-million dollar project, [who] would do it anyway, is now going to pay less tax,” he said, adding, “What we’re hoping is that we’re going to get a developer [to] do something he or she wouldn’t otherwise do.”

Evans, who eventually voted in favour of the program, also noted that although the tax rebates would need council approval, he wondered if it would be legally possible to say no if a developer qualified for them under the new program.

Generous incentives

According to research conducted by Sackville residents Sharon Hicks and Percy Best, it appears that the Sackville economic incentive program is more generous than similar ones in nearby municipalities.

In Shediac, for example, the tax incentive is 1.5% of the full value of the property assessment, which would mean a residential property assessed at $16.5 million would receive a one-time tax rebate of $247,500.

Hicks and Best sent their findings in an open letter to Tantramar councillors on July 22nd basing their calculations on a building valued at $14 million.

To read their main findings, click here.

To read Kieran Miller’s report to council, which includes the Lafford application for the incentive program, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 20 Comments

Mayor Black calls Chignecto delays frustrating; defends speedy Lafford approval

Posted on July 19, 2023 by brucewark

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black

Tantramar Mayor Andrew Black says he’s relieved the federal and provincial governments have finally agreed to share the costs of protecting the Chignecto Isthmus from flooding, but he still sounds far from happy.

“It has been utterly frustrating to get to the point where the feds have offered to pay for something and the provincial governments are just sort of bickering back and forth about who is going to pay for the whole thing, ” Black said today in an interview.

He was referring to news that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will apply for federal money to pay half the cost of raising Chignecto dykes, but still plan to ask for a court ruling on whether Ottawa should pay 100% of the cost.

Funding delay

A government-funded engineering study recommended three options for protecting the Isthmus more than a year ago, but Black complains that nothing has happened since.

“Every year that passes by just makes it a little more scary,” he says. “We had a near miss with Fiona.”

He points out that the post-tropical storm veered to the east last September pounding northern Nova Scotia, PEI and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland.

“These places got absolutely pummelled,” Black says. “If that had come straight up the Bay of Fundy, the conversation right now would be much, much different.”

He adds that it’s “somewhat alarming” that the two provinces are now estimating that strengthening the dykes could cost up to $650 million, more than double the projected maximum cost of $300 million, but he’s not surprised that costs have risen as governments dithered.

Black says it’s crucial to start the five years of further study that will be needed followed by another five years of construction.

“In all of that time, another storm could come through and could separate Nova Scotia from the rest of the country which would be hugely detrimental to Tantramar and its residents, not to mention our agricultural supportive land in our community,” Black says.

“So, it doesn’t matter, the bickering or if there’s partisan politics, just somebody needs to pay for it and someone needs to get it started.”

Lafford building

Black’s comments came after a noon-hour town council meeting that lasted less than three minutes.

The special meeting was convened so that council could give final approval to the six-storey, 71-unit Lafford apartment building at 131 Main Street in Sackville.

Black says he called the meeting after John Lafford requested it. Otherwise, the developer would have had to wait for final approval until council’s next regular meeting on August 8th.

Once again, only Councillor Bruce Phinney voted against approving the zoning amendments needed for the building.

When asked if speeding up the process showed favouritism, especially since previous councils had twice rejected building proposals for that site from another developer, Black said every development application is different.

“Have we opened a door to this kind of appeal by a developer to rush something through?” Black asked.

“Maybe,” he answered. “Would we do it for one person and not for someone else? Possibly. But again, each development is different,” he said.

“Is it favouritism? Hard to say. He’s a developer who’s developed a lot in Sackville,” Black said, adding that the town doesn’t get many permit applications or zoning requests, but that the ones from Lafford show he’s investing here.

“So I would say, it’s not really favouritism, it’s just that he seems to have a sizeable market share in development in the town.”

Posted in Environment, New Brunswick government, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 15 Comments

Confidential report recommends solutions to health-care issues such as doctor shortage, ambulance delays

Posted on July 16, 2023 by brucewark

Sackville Memorial Hospital

A detailed, 40-page report on primary health care in the Tantramar region identifies 13 major problems and recommends specific steps to solve them by the target date of April 1, 2024.

The report, dated October 2022, was compiled by a 15-member committee that included local volunteers such as former Sackville Mayors John Higham and Pat Estabrooks, several others with extensive health care experience as well as representatives from Mount Allison University and Horizon Health. For a list of members, click here.

Among other things, the report points to a shortage of family doctors and nurse practitioners because of recent and anticipated retirements.

It recommends recruiting and hiring more of them while expanding the community health clinic in Port Elgin and establishing medical clinics in the Sackville area with additional staff such as physiotherapists, social workers and mental health counsellors.

The Horizon Health Network released the report to Warktimes last week in response to my request for it in April under New Brunswick’s Right to Information and Protection of Privacy law.

Professionals interviewed

According to the report, its recommendations are based on interviews with 12 professionals who work in the following fields in Sackville, Dorchester, Memramcook, Fort Folly and Port Elgin:

(1) Fire/First Responders (2) Ambulance NB (3) Drug & Addictions Counselling (4) Nurse Practitioner (5) General Practitioner (medical doctor) (6) Mental Health Social Worker (7) Extramural Program — Tantramar (8) Pharmacist (9) Mount Allison Wellness Care Provider (10) Physiotherapy provider (11) Long-Term Care Manager (12) Nursing Homes Without Walls.

The professionals were asked about the barriers patients face, gaps in the health-care system, what’s working well and what needs improvement.

Although the five pages that give their responses have been redacted (left blank), it’s possible to glean information from summaries in the report that list the 13 major issues or problems and the recommended solutions.

For example, ambulance delays are listed as a top priority in issue #3:

    • Patients are experiencing Ambulance New Brunswick (ANB) offload delays
    • The patient population has increased resulting in an increase in ANB calls
    • There is a failure to utilize resources: Some Fire Departments (Dorchester, Port Elgin, Memramcook) have trained First Responders but do not consistently receive medical-assistance First Responder calls

The report then describes the consequences of these problems:

  • Ambulances are not available to attend to medical emergencies or transport patients to other facilities from Sackville
  • Reduced accessibility to ambulance services
  • Increased response time

It goes on to recommend corrective or remedial measures to be implemented by April 1, 2024:

  • Improved hospital acute-care bed availability (prevents patient stacking in ER and ambulances)
  • Placement of long-term care patients occupying acute-care beds in community long-term care facilities
  • Utilization of non-ANB First Responders

Other issues

The report also recommends ways to restore 24/7 emergency room service at the Sackville hospital; how to reduce hospital clinic waitlists for diabetic and mental health patients as well as implementation of an electronic medical record system “accessible by all care providers” to improve the delivery of patient services.

To view all 13 issues/problems and the recommended solutions, click here.

To read the entire report, click here.

Posted in Health care | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Final approval for controversial Lafford bldg. in Sackville now seems certain

Posted on July 12, 2023 by brucewark

Artist’s rendition of six storey, 71-unit apartment building

Tantramar Town Council has voted 8-1 to give Sackville developer John Lafford the rezoning he needs for a six-storey, 71-unit apartment building at 131 Main Street.

The zoning changes to allow a large, multi-unit building that is 19.8 metres (65 feet) high passed first and second readings Tuesday with final approval at a later meeting almost certain.

Four of the five members of council, who spoke in favour, cited the urgent need for housing as one of the main reasons for their support.

“Being a younger member of the council, I can’t help but look at my 13-year-old child and consider the very real possibility that if things continue on their current path, he will not be able to find [an] affordable, well-maintained place to live in town,” said Councillor Josh Goguen, who spoke first.

Councillor Allison Butcher

“Our community needs housing,” said Councillor Allison Butcher. “I think that with the housing crisis the way it is now and our downtown core the way it is now, we’re in a crisis situation and we need to move forward with the possibility of having any new housing in our area that we can.”

“I know of at least two people in Moncton who are looking forward to move back to Sackville when this thing gets built,” said Councillor Michael Tower. “You take into consideration that we could have a nursing school here. They’re going to need accommodations.”

“There is an absolute shortage of housing all across this nation,” said Mayor Andrew Black, “and if we have an opportunity to build it in town safely, securely with a wonderful build that is supportive of the community, I think that we need to take advantage of that.”

Deputy Mayor Greg Martin, who also voted in favour, acknowledged that the proposed building has generated plenty of controversy.

“I, like all of the members of council I’m sure, have been swamped by differences of opinions, e-mails, sometimes as many as a dozen a day,” Martin said.

“I’ve had time to talk to a lot of people and some of my favourite friends at Tim Hortons have given me opinions on both sides,” he added, “but I think we have to move forward.”

To read a transcript of their remarks, click here.

Councillor Bruce Phinney voted against the zoning changes, but did not speak during the council discussion.

He told reporters later that he feels the building’s location would cause severe traffic congestion and its apartments would not be affordable.

“I don’t think it’s going to resolve our housing problem,” he said. “Most rents, the way I’ve looked at it over the years are based on two salaries and if it’s about a thousand dollars, that’s five hundred bucks a piece, that’s fine, but for the ordinary person not making very much money, that’s really steep.”

To read a transcript of Phinney’s remarks, click here.

Third reading (final approval) of the zoning changes is expected at the next regular council meeting on August 8th.

To read earlier coverage, click here.

Posted in Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Black peaty stuff hinders flood control work, but Lorne St. project still on track says town engineer

Posted on July 10, 2023 by brucewark

Arrow shows where softer material pushed in the sides of the new ditch and caused the service road at left to sink a few inches

Town Engineer Jon Eppell says construction crews working on the third and final phase of the Lorne Street flood control project are dealing with the unexpected discovery of black, peat-like material between Crescent Street and the dyke that holds back the Tantramar River.

“We hit some soft spots,” Eppell said today in a telephone interview. “So, we’re putting larger rocks in to stabilize it.”

The softer material, which is being trucked away, pushed in the sides of the new ditch the Beale & Inch crews are digging and caused the service road they’re building to sink slightly, but Eppell says the project is still on track.

He explains that crews will soon begin extending the ditch to the site where a new aboiteau will be installed to discharge storm water through the dyke and into the river at low tide.

“We had to wait for the province to issue the WAWA permit,” he says referring to the Watercourse and Wetland Alteration Permit that is required before work can proceed in environmentally sensitive areas.

Photo, taken from the dyke, shows the existing ditch on the left with the new, wider ditch that will soon be extended to a new aboiteau to be installed at provincial expense in the dyke. The fencing on the left surrounds Sackville’s main sewage lagoons

Eppell says that the town will need other WAWA permits including one for the digging of a large water retention pond behind the community gardens on Charles Street.

“We probably won’t get that for another month, but it doesn’t matter because we don’t plan to start digging that pond until September to avoid interfering with the nesting of migratory birds,” he explains.

He expects the Crescent Street work to be finished “probably within a week” before crews start installing pipes under Sloan Street.

Meantime, Eppell says all of the work has been completed “except for a couple of minor things” at Sackville’s old Pickard Quarry. A control structure, designed to slow the flow of water down to Lorne Street during heavy storms, is now in place.

He explains that the quarry itself will serve as a water retention pond, smaller than the one that was dug during Phase II of the project south of St. James Street and the one that crews will dig this fall east of Charles.

For earlier coverage, click here.

Photo shows top of the Pickard Quarry water control structure with retention pond at rear

Posted in Environment, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged | 3 Comments

Mayor wrong to limit debate on proposed Lafford building, former councillors say

Posted on July 3, 2023 by brucewark

Mayor Black tells Susan Gourley her concerns over affordability and bird safety are not matters council can consider

Three former Sackville councillors, with expertise in environmental issues, municipal planning and local government say Mayor Andrew Black was wrong to suggest to members of the public that some of their concerns were irrelevant as they commented on the proposed six-storey apartment building planned for 131 Main Street.

In addition, former councillors Sabine Dietz, Virgil Hammock and Geoff Martin argue Tantramar councillors should be free to consider a wide range of factors when they vote on whether to amend the zoning bylaw to allow JN Lafford Realty to construct a 71-unit building that is higher than 50 feet on the 1.3 acre site.

Several times during last Tuesday’s public hearing, the mayor interjected to say that environmental concerns, housing affordability issues and the shape and size of the proposed building are not factors council can consider because they’re not included in Sackville’s municipal plan or its zoning bylaw.

Public comments

Sackville resident Susan Gourley was one of the first to speak at the hearing. Black intervened soon after she began.

Gourley: “So, I have two things to ask you. Did Nature Canada…”

Black: “Uh–” [interjecting]

Gourley: “I’m not allowed to ask you anything?”

Black: “Well, you can’t ask council questions, but it is really just to give a statement on the amendments.”

Susan Gourley listens as Mayor Black says her concerns have nothing to do with the zoning bylaw amendments that would clear the way for the Lafford bldg.

“OK, so I’m not aware if we’ve been signed off in Tantramar as a bird-friendly city from Nature Canada,” Gourley responded.  “I’m just wondering. And, I’m not aware if there is any environmental review of this proposal.”

She then urged council to consider how to protect young birds in the Waterfowl Park given the shape and size of the proposed building and its large number of windows. Black interjected again when she suggested the building’s apartments would not be affordable.

“Sorry, Ms. Gourley, the comments are for the two [zoning] amendments,” the mayor said. “The pricing of the building, the rental amounts of the building have nothing to do with the two amendments that are being proposed.”

After Gourley said birds would strike the building’s glass balconies and urged council to consider effects the tall building would have on birds, Black interjected again.

“The general look of the building, the shape of the building, council again has no decision over what the building looks like,” he said. “What the building looks like is in the hands of the developer.”

Flood risks

Black also rejected former Sackville councillor Sabine Dietz’s call for council to vote against the zoning amendments because flooding in that location could endanger peoples’ lives.

Sabine Dietz argued council could vote against the zoning amendments on safety grounds

“As council, you cannot put your head in the sand and say it’s a safe location. It is not,” she warned.

Black argued, however, that there’s nothing in the zoning bylaw or municipal plan to prevent the developer from building in a flood-risk zone.

In a follow-up e-mail to council, Dietz acknowledged that council is hampered by the current bylaw and municipal plan.

“However, that is a very narrow interpretation of your role and power,” she wrote.

“As council, if something is wrong, or incomplete, or puts people at risk, then you can act. In this case, you can indeed vote against the re-zoning of this particular property.”

‘Bully platform’

“The mayor shouldn’t be using his chair as a bully platform,” said Virgil Hammock in an interview with Warktimes. “He should appear neutral.”

Hammock, who served 13 years on Sackville Town Council and seven on the planning commission, added that councillors are elected to make political decisions and should be free to make their own judgments without the mayor declaring in advance what they can and cannot consider — a point also made by Mount Allison Politics Professor Geoff Martin, who served on Sackville Town Council from 1998 to 2004.

Martin referred to Section 48 of the Local Governance Act which states that the mayor is “subject to the direction and control of council.”

“The mayor has no authority to tell members of the public to limit their remarks to certain subjects,” he adds, “and he has no authority to be telling councillors what they can say and  do,” a reference to Mayor Black’s warning as the public hearing began that although councillors could ask questions “a discussion or debate involving members of council is inappropriate.”

Martin also points out that the law requires councillors to act in the best interests of the whole municipality.

“Opinions may differ on what those best interests are, but councillors are entitled to their opinions,” he said.

Response from Mayor Black

In an e-mail to Warktimes, Mayor Black responded:

“I am not telling the public nor council what they can or cannot say. In this case there are two amendments being proposed by the developer through Plan 360….the rezoning of the subdivided piece of land and the changing of the allowable height. As I said in the meeting, the look of the building, the heritage features of the building, the price of the units being proposed, the flood plain issue……..none of these concerns are addressing the amendments to the bylaw specifically. Did this stop people from saying those things anyway?…….I think it did not.

“People got to say what they wanted to say, but I wanted to interject when I could to make sure that people were aware that these specific concerns they had (as listed above), while important to state, are not about the proposed amendments. Some of the other comments that were made…..visual landscape of the area, the possible looming presence of the building, the concerns around firefighting, possible traffic increases, possible impact on water table/geothermal, etc…….directly target the proposed amendments as submitted.

“Regarding council, I was not trying to tell them they couldn’t say anything, in fact a couple of councillors did ask questions, but to make sure they understood the intent of the public hearing. That this part of the process was for members of the public to address council and, if needed, for council members to get clarification on something that was said in an address. This is why I made sure to ask council if they had any questions or comments after each person got up to speak. As I said in my opening about the process, questions being asked of council by the public and council potentially debating/supporting a topic is not appropriate.

“The issues of “affordability”, flood plains and heritage need to be looked at as our new municipality addresess the municipal plan and the zoning bylaws that we operate under. I stated that a few times during the public hearing and I believe it to be true. But under the laws that we currently operate by, those issues are not controllables and I would argue that if council defeated a motion of a zoning amendment on these grounds, there would be a quick referral of this decision to the assessment and planning review board.”

Rebuttal from Geoff Martin

“My experience with Municipal Plan by-laws is that there is often flowery and vague language and the values are open to interpretation. In addition, I disagree that councillors must be bound to an aging municipal plan by-law that they did not pass or have a chance to amend. It is not like the mayor is a judge and the council is a jury that receives his charge and must abide by it. The municipal council is explicitly a political body. That is why they are elected, unlike judges in this country. I fall back on the language in the Act, which gives wide latitude to mayor and councillors to represent citizens as they see fit, so long as they don’t veer into discriminatory or harassing conduct. If a negative decision was overturned by the provincial planning appeals board then so be it. To me that would say a lot about the planning appeals board.”

Posted in Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Sackville developer calls for speedy decision on apt. bldg. after residents voice objections & support during public hearing

Posted on June 28, 2023 by brucewark

Sackville developer John Lafford addressing Tantramar council on Tuesday

“We need housing,” developer John Lafford declared as he addressed Tantramar Town Council Tuesday about his company’s plans for a controversial six-storey, 71 unit apartment building in Sackville.

“The vacancy rate is less than 1%; JN Lafford’s waiting list alone is 250 people.”

Lafford argued that his $17 million building would help provide the housing needed to attract new people, including health professionals, to settle here.

“We need different types of housing and the one way to do it quickly and effectively is to put up a building with high density,” he explained.

“Our goal is to break ground mid-July,” Lafford said. “I call on the council and its leadership group to make a swift, quick decision.”

The Sackville developer was the final speaker at a public hearing held to discuss the pros and cons of rezoning about 1.3 acres his company owns behind the historic Allison/Fisher/Fawcett house at 131 Main Street.

The zoning change to Urban Residential 3 (R3) would allow for construction of an apartment building with more than six units.

JN Lafford Realty is also seeking to change height restrictions in the R3 zone from a maximum of 15.3 metres (50 feet) to 19.8 metres (65 feet), a change that would apply to a number of other properties in Sackville.

Apparently irritated by a series of speakers who voiced various objections to his plans, Lafford assured council the town would benefit from an additional $130,000 in annual property tax revenue as well as increased outside investment and development “when this building goes up. And this building is going to go up,” he said turning to face about 45 spectators in the council chamber.

After a pause, he added, “and I’m not being cocky and I’m not being foolish.”

Thumbs up from planner

Tuesday’s public hearing began with a 12 minute presentation by Southeast Regional Service Commission planner Lori Bickford who suggested that the proposed building meets all basic requirements.

She noted, for example, that Sackville’s municipal plan sets a target for multi-unit residences at 10 buildings per year, but that in the last five years there have been only four new buildings with a total of 53 apartments, far fewer than needed to meet the town’s current housing shortage.

Bickford added that 18 one-bedroom apartments would be classed as affordable, a point repeated later by John Lafford who said that 17 would rent for under $1,000 per month with an additional 18 under $1,150.

As for safety, the planner showed a slide indicating that the building’s height would be at the “maximum of Sackville Fire and Rescue’s fire suppression equipment’s capabilities.”

Bickford also showed flood mapping images indicating that the building could be within the zone for a severe, one-in-one-hundred-year storm.

“It is important to note,” she added, “that the flood mapping regulations currently under the zoning bylaw do not prohibit development, but it does prohibit overnight accommodation from occurring below that elevation. So, the indications to date of the proposal, as well as the mapping that we have available on site, indicates that the overnight accommodation areas would be above this proposed one-in-one-hundred-year [flood].”

Heritage concerns

Bickford showed a slide to demonstrate that even though there is no heritage bylaw in place, the design of the building incorporates elements of the existing historic house on the front of the property. She also indicated that the old carriage house on the property would remain in place, a point that John Lafford also made during his presentation.

Public comments

A total of 12 residents spoke during the 78 minute public hearing. Three expressed strong support for the new building while seven voiced their opposition. Two speakers said they were concerned about the development suggesting council should conduct further research before approving the zoning changes that would make it possible.

(1) Emma Neilson, who identified herself as a recent graduate of Tantramar Regional High School, said the new building would change the landscape of Tantramar as a community as well as a tourist destination: “For me and for many of my fellow graduates, Tantramar is our home. This would completely change how we remember our experience in Sackville and our school and our relationship, especially with the Waterfowl Park and our memories there as children.”

(2) Susan Gourley wondered if there would be an environmental review of the development and suggested it would be an opportunity for council to apply its “climate lens” to the project. She also expressed strong concern about the potential effect on young birds who live in and around the Waterfowl Park. “There are many windows in that building and this is a quote from flap.org: ‘More and more cities and municipalities across the globe require that new constructions be built with birds in mind. There are a wide variety of cost-effective and attractive options that can be an integral part of bird-safe building design or retrofits.’ To learn more about effective bird-safe design and solutions, please visit birdsafe.ca.”

(3) Sabine Dietz, the former Sackville councillor, identified herself as a professional with possibly more experience/expertise in climate change adaptation than anyone in Atlantic Canada. “I’m also a Sackville resident who cares about keeping all of us safe and I also want to make sure that we make as a community the fewest mistakes possible.” Dietz said that although climate change is creating many uncertainties, we do know that things are changing fast and dramatically. She urged members of council not to approve the zoning changes in this location. “It’s not a question of if we should have more housing, any kind of housing, it’s a question of where we should put the housing…As council, you cannot put your head in the sand and say it’s a safe location. It is not.” Dietz said even though current flood risk maps are outdated, they show the proposed building could be in danger and that councillors should make their decisions on zoning based on the evidence. “I urge you to not approve the zoning change in this particular location — the zoning change is tied to this one location — because, at this time, it’s the only tool you have to prevent building in a risk zone.”

Note: Mayor Black replied that even though the town needs to review its municipal plan and zoning bylaws, there is nothing in either at the moment that deals with flooding. “It doesn’t limit a development from being built in that location,” he cautioned. “I just wanted to make that point.”

John Read expressed strong support for the Lafford development

(4) John Read, who spoke strongly in favour of the new building, stressed the need for high-density housing. “I know of at least one doctor who has not come to town because of lack of accommodation.” He said a previous Lafford building made 29 houses available in Sackville after their owners sold them to move into it. [Lafford himself made the same point later adding that as many as 58 single-family homes could become available in a single year as their owners move into his new building at 131 Main Street.] Read said the town is lucky to have a local developer who wants to build a quality project where there is already a lot of housing in a location that is close to the university and the downtown. He added that as he walks around the Waterfowl Park he already sees buildings on all sides as well as the TransCanada highway, so the new Lafford building would not make much difference to the view planes. Read did express concern about a zoning change that could lead to six-storey buildings in other areas: “I guess that’s one thing I could challenge council to think about. Could they change the zoning requirement so that it’s only this location, so each location could be looked at in terms of height, but overall, I just think that it’s an exciting prospect and I’m really in favour.”

(5) Jeff Egger, who spoke on behalf of the nearby St. Paul’s Anglican Church, said he wanted to register their concern that the new building could be large enough to raise the water table leading to flooding in the church hall basement. “When it was built, the basement was above the water table. Since that time, and it’s not an old building, the water table has risen…and already we do have to work to prevent flooding, to deal with occasional floods.” Egger also expressed concern about the possible effect the new building could have on the church’s two geothermal wells that are underneath the hall and the church itself.

(6) Bill Burrows, who represented the board of directors of the nearby Marshwinds Housing Co-op, said he had two points: “It is in a neighbourhood where people have made sure that the properties look similar. We have taken great pains to make sure our properties have been maintained in the way they were built. When we changed the railings on the front porches, we made sure that they looked like cattails because that’s the way they were before. Other houses in the neighbourhood have also done the same thing. I would urge you not to look at this proposal as a single building on a single property, but rather a building within a neighbourhood.” Burrows said his second point was about the height of the building. “This thing would be right across the fence from us and it would loom over our properties. I’m sure someone could stand on the balcony up there and flick their cigar ashes on people at the Co-op below. It’s just too close and just too high.”

(7)  Meredith Fisher, who owns a rental property on nearby Rectory Lane, referred to a six-page document she had sent town council listing 11 concerns. She said the new building would have looked very different if there had been a heritage bylaw in place. She said Sackville had been promising heritage protection for five years ever since the old bylaw was scrapped, but it hasn’t happened. She suggested that if the town were to scrap the property tax rebates under its 2020 economic development incentive program, it would also alter the Lafford proposal. Fisher expressed concern about the height of the new building in one of Sackville’s “last, iconic streetscapes.” She said the zoning change would set a precedent for other R3 properties in Sackville.

(8) Mike Wilson, CEO of the AIL Group of Companies, said AIL held a job fair about a month and a half ago for its newly built pipe factory on Walker Road. “We had 142 people we interviewed in one day. There’s a lot of people that would like to stay here and work here. I think this particular well-thought-out development meets a lot of the criteria the town should consider.” He added those criteria would include higher density housing in an attractive building that would be a real asset to the town. “I’d like to have more housing here in town so that people can stay here. Quite a few of the people that we interviewed…want to stay here, work here in town rather than commuting to Moncton, Dieppe and elsewhere. We’ve also got quite a few people from the area — from Amherst and Dieppe — working already at the top of the hill on Walker Road and I think the town needs more development. We have a few gaps in the downtown thanks to a few fires and I hope that as council, you don’t want to put any more roadblocks to development than there are already with high interest rates and that sort of thing because we need to re-develop the downtown as well.”

Cathy Pettipas of the Marshwinds Housing Co-op spoke against the new bldg

(9) Cathy Pettipas, who is secretary-treasurer of the non-profit Marshwinds Housing Co-op, said the Co-op defines affordable housing as 30% below market rent. “That’s what we try to maintain and let me tell you, it’s a heck of a job to try to meet those demands and we are always after funding and have been working on that heavily the past year for…funding which we luckily just got.” Pettipas expressed concerns about the height of the proposed building, its closeness to the Co-op and other neighbourhood buildings as well as the effects on Main Street traffic, bottlenecks at the nearby Mt. A. crosswalks and the shortage of parking in the area. “I’m very worried that there’s been no idea of what putting a 71-unit building, literally, 3.5 times the population density of the Marshwinds Housing Co-op in that tiny little space at the back.”

(10) Keith Carter said he’s a landlord in the town “and it’s not the easiest job to have.” He said he applauds John Lafford for trying to alleviate Sackville’s rental problems. “I don’t think we should be staying back in the 1800s with three or four storey rules that we’ve had. We should get on with the way the world is going because it’s to make things more dense in an area.” He added that Dieppe is facing similar problems and the solution is to let buildings go higher.

(11) Courtney Hay said she served as chair of a community group in a similar-sized town in western Canada. “We worked with town and with developers as our town became a centre of development in a ski village out west where there were lots of development interests and we wanted to work together. So I see an opportunity here for some leadership, for some collaboration, for some…sustainable aesthetic, thoughtful planning.” She suggested there are other towns that could serve as models adding that Sackville is lucky to have a developer who lives in town. Hay said she’s concerned by the flood mapping and the rate of climate change. “I am not convinced that you’ve explored and properly discussed the rate of change as we know things are increasing. She added she’s also concerned about fire risks in light of the recent wildfires in suburban Halifax. “Could you handle an extreme situation? Maybe you’re equipped and maybe you’re not. I don’t feel that it’s been entirely thought through adequately.”

(12) Carrie Phinney, who also lives in the housing co-op, echoed concerns about the closeness of the new building. “I won’t have any privacy, they can look in my windows. I won’t be able to be outside. People will throw things off the balconies. We all know what people are like and I have a lot of pride in my property and in my home and I don’t want it to be wrecked.

Next steps

Planner Lori Bickford said council will be asked to give first reading to the zoning bylaw changes at its next regular meeting on July 11th. She added that all three readings cannot take place at one meeting, so a second one would be needed for a final vote.

To read her background information as well as the e-mails and letters she received for and against the Lafford proposal, click here.

Posted in Environment, Town of Sackville, Town of Tantramar | Tagged , | 14 Comments