Councillor concerned parking requirements standing in way of more affordable housing

A proposal to build 16 apartment buildings on Fredericton's north side spurred discussion about loosening zoning restrictions that one councillor says are getting in the way of making housing more affordable.

Rob Leblanc of Fathom Studios presented a proposal to councillors Tuesday for the creation of a housing complex consisting of apartment buildings, townhousesand single detached homes near the intersection ofMcLeod Hill and Royal roads that would create a total of 1,475 units.

Leblanc told councillors he's seeking to have some of the lots rezoned from MR-2 to MR-5 to take advantage of a density allowance of 76 square metres per unit.

However, he said whereas the developer would have been allowed to construct the buildings to a maximum of eight storeys, they're only going to build them to a maximum of six storeys due to the number of parking spaces that would be required with having two additional floors.

"Toget to the eight storeys, you would have to move a significant amount of the parking underground,"said Leblanc, speaking to councillors.

"We've been looking at the affordability of this development, andthere's some real benefits to moving parking underground, but affordability is not one of them.

"A surface parking space is about $4,000, and an underground parking space in Fredericton is probably 35 to $40,000,so that adds significant cost to it."

City bylaws require that new buildings have one parking spot for everybacheloror one-bedroom unit, 1.5 spaces for every two-bedroom unit, and 1.75 spaces for every three-bedroom unit.

Requirementhurts affordability: councillor

Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc said the challenge Rob Leblanc expressed shows there isn't one single fix to make housing more affordable.

"I think it's important for us to not just think about affordable housing in the context of building housing, but also the context of revising our zoning bylaws to allow for more density," Cassandra LeBlanc said.

"Because right now ...a lot of developments are leading to giant parking lots that just add to the climate crisis, and also prevent us from doing more density and affordable housing."

Rob Leblanc said his architectural firm has done work in Halifax and Charlottetown, where he's seen a move away from planning requirements around parking spaces for apartments in certain areas.

"There's an awful lot of benefits to that, and especially if you can focus on transit and active transportation, making sure that there's other forms of transportation around," he said.

"But in absence of that, just even reducing the parking requirements from the one point fivesand one point four [spaces per unit],down to point eights, point sevens, makes a big difference."

Councillorsgave preliminary approval to the application, and a final vote on it will be held later this month.