Housing study highlights challenges, opportunities

Sackville has a prime opportunity to capitalize on new housing developments in the community and a recent study commissioned by the town has identified ways it can be done.
"We have so much potential in the community . . . but there are several markets that are not being met for certain segments of the population," said David Bruce, director of the Rural and Small Town Programme at Mount Allison University who was hired by the town last spring to conduct the housing study. "So when people are looking to buy here, it's a challenge."
Bruce, who presented an overview of the recommendations stemming from the study to members of town council during their regular meeting Monday night, said the town should be capitalizing on its greatest strengths - its quality of life and its land mass - but also has to provide further incentives to developers to encourage them to build new homes and subdivisions in Sackville.
"The main question we have to ask ourselves is 'how do we create the conditions for the private sector to build more housing in our community.' That's the bottom line," he said.
Currently, Sackville's housing market lacks diversity, quality and affordability, said Bruce, particularly for the population segments the town should be attracting - the first-time homebuyers, the early retirees, and the commuters.
Sackville is having to compete with the Greater Moncton area, which has more reasonably-priced homes and wider selection and availability, he explained.
The study, which involved a series of interviews with local development stakeholders and a public consultation with residents, has resulted in a series of over 30 recommendations that relates to diversifying the town's housing stock and addressing development and new construction issues.
Bruce said he thinks it's important for Sackville to develop a plan in order to take advantage of future opportunities.
"Although housing development is clearly a sector-delivered commodity largely dictated by market forces, there is a role here that local government should play," he said.
The first series of recommendations focused on improving the land-use planning process and ensuring town council has a clear vision on its development goals.
Barry Carroll, Sackville's CAO, said many of these issues have been addressed in the town's new municipal plan, expected to be released within the next month.
"The first priority for us was to take action on improving the planning process," said Carroll.
Bruce recommended that the town consider allowing more high-density housing to ensure a wider range of housing stock is available in the community.
As well, it was suggested that that the spot rezoning process be made simpler and the town should consider reducing or cost-sharing some of the upfront costs with developers.
"What you've got to keep in mind here is that the town will get those costs back over time with an increase to its tax base."
Under subdivision development, Bruce recommended that the town should clarify timelines in which specific infrastructure needs to be put in place, such as pavement or curb and gutters.
As well, he also offered the suggestion that the town could provide tax relief to developers on vacant lots within the subdivision.
"That way, you're saying to them 'we'd like you to take some risks in our community but we'll help you out a bit to help ease the load.'"
The town could also consider alternative development standards for subdivisions that could be put in place such as narrower streets, shared trenching and a reduced pavement thickness.
As well, subdivison developers could also be offered financial incentives to sell smaller, more affordable lots to provide a wider range of choice to new homebuyers.
Marketing the town was also a focus of the study. Recommendations ranged from including updated information in the town newsletter and website to becoming a member of the Greater Moncton Homebuilders' Association.
The town should also consider putting out "expressions of interests" to the development community for specific housing needs.
"For instance, what we really need is for someone to start building new multi-unit housing for the over-55 crowd," he said. "So the town could look at putting out a formal expression of interest for that."
He said the town certainly needs to focus on capturing the baby-boomer and senior populations.
"Many people in that age group are looking to live in a community like this, so we have to capitalize on that."
Coun. Wayne MacKay said he thinks many of the ideas suggested in the study will help the town move in the right direction to take advantage of the housing opportunities.
"I think there's a lot of good ideas that, if we put them into practice, we'll be inviting a lot of people into the community that are looking for those types of housing," he said.
Carroll said town staff and council will now determine which of the 30-plus recommendations they will put their focus on.
"This certainly encapsulates everything we should be concentrating on . . . but we'll need to find the right mix for Sackville."