New Brunswick looks at how to tackle its affordable housing shortage
A vacant storefront in Uptown Saint John, N.B. (Avery MacRae/CTV Atlantic)
New Brunswick governments and businesses discussed ways to tackle the province’s growing housing crisis in a virtual forum.
Fredericton’s Chamber of Commerce held a webinar forum Wednesday to look for solutions to the lack of affordable housing.
In attendance were Minister of Housing, Jill Green, Mayor of Fredericton, Kate Rogers, Aidan Grove-White, a vice president at StrategyCorp, and moderator Krista Ross, the CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.
The webinar discussed the PC government’s proposal for a new regulation that would allow local governments to adopt a bylaw requiring developers to provide a certain percentage of new multi-unit developments as affordable housing.
"We need to be looking at our zoning regulations. How can we create more affordable (housing) by design,” mayor Rogers said during the Chamber’s forum.
“We need to be working with the non-profit sector to really enhance the non-profit sector specifically,” Rogers said.
The proposed bylaw would not be mandatory, and would allow each local government to choose whether or not to create an inclusionary zoning bylaw and, if it does, the appropriate conditions for its community.
"The cities actually need tools like this to get more affordable housing built in the private sector,” said Peter Jongeneelen, ACORN New Brunswick’s co-chair.
“In places like Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton, to ensure they utilize these powers, right now there's been a hodge-podge as we'll work on some of this as affordable housing,” Jongeneelen said.
Fredericton's mayor said inclusionary zoning might not be the solution in every case.
"By not just looking at blanketed inclusionary zoning as being the only solution it's made us look at other solutions,” Rogers said.
“That we know and that we're seeing some positive outcomes,” she said.
A 28-day comment period about the regulation begins today. Those who wish to review or comment on the proposed inclusionary zoning regulation may do so online.
Ministers of Housing and Local Governance did not respond to CTV's request for an interview before publication.
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
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