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Old Posted May 22, 2007, 1:51 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fredericton, NB
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City's role in subdivision project raises questions
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
Published Tuesday May 22nd, 2007
Appeared on page A1
Fredericton is becoming one of the city's hottest property developers in its own right.

And that, according to one local resident, could be putting the city in a conflict-of-interest situation.

Ian Robertson said the city should be held to the same standards as other developers.

But he said he's not certain that's happening when the city is the owner, the vendor, the subdivider and the approver of its own development projects.

Council will soon be receiving an application from real estate manager Calvin Thompson to start the first phase of developing a 4.2-hectare (10.5 acre) site at 353 Cliffe St.

The city has an agreement-in-principle with a buyer to purchase the entire package of land, but the deal allows the buyer to bite off chunks of land bit by bit and develop them over time.

The first phase of eight is a 16-unit apartment building.

When subdivisions are created in Fredericton, the city has the right to request a land dedication of eight per cent from the developer either as land or cash.

In this case, the city is prepared to "pay itself" cash into a subdivision land account. The funds from that account are used, over time, to buy other properties.

When council brought forward its first phase to the planning advisory committee, it submitted development plans for only the first part. It didn't prepare a detailed subdivision plan for the remainder of the land, merely an outline of its future intent.

Alex Forbes, assistant director of development services, said that practice is not unusual when compared to the city's process with other projects, but Robertson said the city should have done more homework to show the roads and future intended uses within the subdivision.

Another sticking point for Robertson is that the city isn't taking its eight-per-cent land dedication in the form of cash.

For future maximum use of the land, the city should require the equivalent of almost six standard single-family building lots for park space, Robertson said.

Instead, the municipality isn't allowing any park land within a subdivision.

While Thompson suggested that Killarney Lake Park, Fredericton's northside sports and leisure complex, and Leo Hayes High School properties are close enough to provide public park space, one planning advisory committee member raised his eyebrows.

Committee member Jim McElman said even a conservative calculation of the potential population to be housed on the 4.2 hectares at full development is 500 people.

Given that the high school is fenced - and isn't intended to be a public play or park space - McElman suggested the land dedication be reviewed.

"It might be something that deserves a second look," he said.

Robertson has other concerns, including the fact that land in the proposed first phase of development has been clear-cut.

"It appears that little or no consideration has been given to basic factors such as environmental assessment and site constraints."

Robertson is recommending that the city deny its own subdivision application until it does more homework.

Other applications headed for city council approval include subdivision and zoning changes that will cover the subdivision of two lots for office development on Two Nations Crossing, a third lot for Craig Electric Co. Ltd., which wants to relocate from its Union Street location, and the sale of two pieces of land to other developers.
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