SACKVILLE, N.B. — Sackville could soon be home to another housing development aimed at seniors, this time bringing with it not only a series of rowhouses but also the possibility of a private senior care facility.
“It would be basically a village within a village, a sort of retirement community in a campus-like setting,” said developer John Lafford of JN Lafford Realty Inc.
But first, the proposal needs to pass through a series of public presentations and hearings, ones which will get under way in October.
Sackville town council started the process this month, passing a resolution to hear more about the application, which requires changes to the town’s zoning bylaw and the municipal plan.
The proposal will open up a large swath of land in behind Wright Street and Fawcett Avenue for the large-scale development, which comprises a combination of highway commercial development, independent living units aimed at seniors, as well an assisted care facility.
Lori Bickford, planning manager with the local planning commission office, said setting these public presentation and hearing sessions simply starts the public engagement process to hear more details about the request but doesn’t put town council under any obligation to approve the bylaw amendment.
“It’s not a commitment at this time to change the bylaw, just to consider changing it,” she told council at its September meeting.
There are two properties the Laffords are asking to rezone – a portion of the site at the end of Wright Street would need to be changed from highway commercial to Urban Residential (R3) to accommodate the townhouse-style units and the senior care home; while the other property located at the end of Fawcett would be rezoned from Urban Residential 1 to Urban Residential 2 to permit more of the garden homes. A text amendment would also be required to allow for a senior care facility within the R3 zone; currently it is only permitted within an Institutional zone.
The resolution sets out the next steps that will get under way – the Laffords application will be referred to the Southeast Planning Review and Adjustment Committee for its views; the Oct. 15 council meeting at 7 p.m. has been set for the public presentation of council’s intent to amend the municipal plan bylaw; and a public hearing will be held the following month, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., to hear any objections or support for the proposed changes to the bylaws.
Lafford said this entire 22-acre development would be done in several phases over a period of about seven to 10 years.
In the first phase, the plan is to build between 24 to 30 “garden homes,” similar to the ones his company has already built on King Street and Waterfowl Lane. He said there is currently plenty of local demand for these types of one-level, barrier-free units and he also foresees a regional demand in the future as Sackville continues to market itself to the aging population.
If the zoning changes are approved, Lafford hopes to break ground on the first phase next spring.
After that, he said his company will continue to “build on need,” hopefully doubling the number of units in the next phase. A future phase may also include construction of a senior care facility, which would be run by a private operator, said Lafford.
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