New municipal plan will guide future development in Sackville

The town will soon have a new municipal 'roadmap' in place, a plan that will help guide development within the community over the next five to 10 years.
Details of Sackville's new municipal plan will be unveiled over the next few weeks during a series of open house meetings and a public hearing. The 36-page document tackles a variety of issues relating to housing, commercial developments, industrial properties and environmental opportunities.
"This is a document that will guide council and the community in the direction it'll take over the next few years," said Ron Corbett, director of the Tantramar Planning District Commission.
The new municipal plan will replace the current plan, which was drawn up for the town over six years ago. Corbett said the plan is based on the town's demographics while also taking the nature of the economy into consideration.
In essence, the plan is designed to designate and zone sufficient land for future agricultural, residential, recreational, cultural, institutional, industrial and commercial uses. It also serves as a tool to encourage a wide range of businesses, including home-based enterprises, to increase economic development opportunities, while also protecting the town's unique historic and natural environment.
One of the major issues tackled in the new plan is attempting to control density in single-family neigbourhoods, said Corbett.
According to statistics cited in the municipal plan, there are over 1,500 university students living within the town in a mix of housing types including detached and attached dwellings, single and multiple dwelling units.
In the new plan, a policy would be adopted that would see density controlled in single-family neighbourhoods through appropriate zoning regulations which would limit the area devoted to bedrooms and accessory apartments.
"This way, we can try to take the pressure of what would normally be single-family neighbourhoods but also still allowing for opportunities for developers. We're trying to find the right balance there," he said.
Another change in the plan is to improve the processing time for development applications and to reduce the amount of red tape for developers.
The plan also calls for the town to encourage and promote a greater variety of housing options in the community.
"This particularly relates to two groups - those who want to have affordable housing options and seniors," said Corbett.
The plan will allow for a wider range of uses in newly-developed areas, he said, opening up options for townhouses, apartments or condos.
"We really need to open up the market in terms of affordability and housing," he said, noting there is great potential to develop the town as a senior's community, taking advantage of the coming seniors' boom that will occur across Canada.
As stated in the municipal plan, this population increase could provide a number of business opportunities, attract new residents and build the economy of the town of Sackville.
To encourage developers to start work on the new housing options, the plan recommends the town could provide public land at reduced costs to non-profit organizations and assist with the provisions of municipal infrastructure; as well as permit a conversion of institutional uses to medium or high density uses without an amendment to the zoning by-law.
"This is all about opportunities," said Corbett.
Through the plan, new development will also be encouraged in the downtown sector, the highway-commercial area, and a newly-developed business park.
Corbett said the plan calls for the highway-commercial area to be extended across the highway, where the former Department of Transportation office and the Fillmore property are located. As well, the town may also want to consider expanding its highway-commercial area up to Hesler Drive.
"We are practically at the limit in terms of extending our highway commercial area so we have to start looking at where we can find more land," he said.
Also stretched to the limit is the amount of land the town has for industrial and commercial use in the community. The challenge is to provide sufficient land for future expansion that has direct access to the Trans Canada and has a low impact on residential neighbourhoods.
The plan recommends the town consider property off the Walker Road exit for a future business/industrial park that could be used for various enterprises, from research industries to hotel complexes.