Municipalities work to manage growth and 'nimbyism': mayors

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The mayors of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe said Thursday that their respective councils and municipal staff are doing their best to manage growth in what has become Canada’s fastest-growing community, and could use more help from people.

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold, Riverview Mayor Andrew J. LeBlanc and Dieppe Mayor Yvon Lapierre gathered on the stage Thursday morning for the eighth annual State of the Tri Communities conference, moderated by John Wishart, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton. The breakfast meeting was attended by approximately 320 guests including municipal councillors, administrators, business operators and representatives of various organizations that service the community.

Unlike previous events where the mayors had prepared speeches, they answered prepared questions dealing mainly with the ongoing construction boom of multi-unit apartment buildings, population growth, immigration, the need for more people to fill vacant jobs and the “nimbyism” that slows development. The term “nimbyism” refers to people who aren’t really opposed to development as long as it is “not in my back yard.”

Over the last year, both Moncton and Riverview have held public hearings on rezonings for apartment buildings that resulted in neighbours writing letters and standing up to voice their objections, which is their right according to the bylaws process. The December meeting of Moncton city council devoted roughly two hours reading letters of objection to a proposed development. Last year, a large delegation of Riverview citizens voiced their objection to a development on Hillsborough Road, and council voted against it. Developers went back to the drawing board and are now proposing to build town houses on the same piece of land.

Riverview Mayor LeBlanc said the town has done a lot of research that is providing a road map for growth and economic development. With a population over 20,000, Riverview is the fourth-largest municipality in the province and bigger than four of its cities. He said the town wants to grow while protecting its small town feel.

“The growth is going to happen whether we want it to or not,” LeBlanc said. “People are coming here and we need them. Our responsibility as elected officials is not to prohibit growth but to manage it in an effective way.”

LeBlanc said the tri-community needs more people to fill jobs, and those people will need more housing in the future, but there are also people who push back against development in their own back yard. He called on those who understand the need for change to speak up in favour of development at upcoming public hearings.

“It’s really important because we can’t do it by ourselves,” he said.

“I would rather deal with the challenges of growth than the challenges of decline any day,” Mayor Arnold said. “We want to build an economy and great quality of life for all residents.”

On the subject of “nimbyism,” Arnold said the city is in a housing crisis and needs to continue to build homes suitable for people in all demographics.”

The subject of building more housing flowed into the issue of homelessness and affordable housing. The city is getting over $15 million from the federal housing accelerator fund and is changing its bylaws to allow for more types of housing, including renovations to existing homes. But what’s also required is more help for people with mental illness, addictions and those who are released from prison and find themselves on the streets without help, so they turn to the homeless shelters. She renewed the call for a mental health court in Moncton for cases where treatment is a better option than jail time. Arnold said Miramichi and St. Stephen recently got homeless shelters, which shows that it is an issue that affects the whole province.

Arnold said the city has invested money to help shelters and non-profit agencies, hired more bylaw officers and RCMP officers. She said the municipalities are doing everything we can to effect but there is only so much they can do. The city put over $300,000 to help the Humanity Project build 21 bunkhouses for homeless people, and 13 of them are already in use.

LeBlanc said Riverview is trying to find ways to help people who are retired and can’t afford to live in their home anymore, and those young people who can’t afford to buy a home. He said the municipalities need more support from the province if they are going to address these issues. He said Riverview is still waiting for word on federal funding for affordable housing, which is part of the town’s growth strategy.

Arnold said more affordable housing is coming by opening up the Vision Lands and an area around Mountain Road and Wheeler Boulevard. One housing initiative is to get students of post-secondary schools into student housing, which would open up space for other people.

As immigration levels continue to rise, Arnold called on all residents to help each other and give newcomers a sense of belonging to their new community.

One member of the audience asked about security issues downtown, saying that some people are afraid to walk between their car and their workplace. Arnold advised people who have witnessed someone loitering, camping or disturbing the peace to contact the city’s bylaw enforcement officers and/or the RCMP.

Devon Babineau, a long-time realtor in Moncton, said one of the issues with housing is that many people have permanent part-time jobs which pay a good wage but make it difficult to qualify for a mortgage. She said many people want to buy a house but don’t qualify.