Moncton is considering rezoning a piece of land for new francophone schools for the second time in three years because the New Brunswick government decided not to comply with the conditions city councillors imposed the first time.
The province went ahead with construction of the adjoining schools at 620 McLaughlin Dr. despite municipal zoning there that doesn’t allow schools.
“It’s currently a violation of zoning and we try not to have those as often as we can,” Josh Adams, a senior planner with the city, told reporters Monday.
“So we’ve been working with the province to try to gain compliance on that and they’ve been very helpful and they want to be following the City of Moncton’s rules too.”
École Claudette-Bradshaw, a kindergarten to Grade 5 school, will open in the fall on the site. École Le Mascaret, a Grade 6 to 8 school, opened in January. The complex has a combined capacity of 1,300 students. It will also include a daycare.
Councilors voted in April 2020 to rezone the property from residential use to community use, which allows schools.
After a lengthy public hearing in which neighbors raised concerns about the loss of trees and the proximity of dumpsters to homes, two conditions were added by the council. The conditions called for the province to install a two meter tall wooden fence between the schools and homes, and to plant more trees.
Province rejected conditions
At Monday’s council meeting it was revealed the province opted to reject the conditions and as a result the rezoning was never formally completed.
Adams told reporters the province didn’t want to put up a fence around the site.
Legislation previously allowed the province to override local zoning, so the city issued a building permit for schools despite the zoning issue. The law has since changed to require the province to consider local zoning.
“In the spirit of these legislative changes, we’ve attempted to rezone the property for a second time in order to close that file,” Adams told councillors in French.
The request, which requires multiple meetings and another public hearing, includes a condition to install a 1.8-metre tall chain link fence separating the homes and dumpsters.
It’s not clear if the province, which rejects a wooden fence, will accept a chain link fence.
No one from the province spokesperson at Monday’s council meeting.
Count. Paul Richard, who represents the area, questioned whether the city had a choice in issuing the permit.
Adams said that issuing the permit allowed the city to collect building permit fees on the multi-million dollar project.
“We really didn’t have a choice because the construction was going to go ahead whether we gave them the permit or not,” Adams said. “So it was better for us to agree to it.”
Provincial decisions about schools in the Moncton area, such as relocating Moncton High School from downtown to the northern edge of the city, have generated controversy.
The 2020 public hearing for the francophone schools happened while some council members were frustrated over the site selection for another school in the city’s west end.
Count. Charles Léger and other councillors are threatened with rejecting the francophone school rezoning request during that public hearing unless the province addresses the concerns of residents. Councillors then added the two conditions which the province ultimately opted to reject.
Public hearing in May
Léger, who had called for changes to the school site selection process, said he’s now seeing progress by the province.
“I think the process now is certainly much better than it once was,” Léger said in an interview Monday.
“We’re trying to avoid situations where the municipalities feel like they’ve not been consulted and it’s frustrating for municipalities, frustrating for citizens.”
Councilors voted unanimously in favor of first reading of the new rezoning bylaw Monday.
The vote sends the rezoning request to Moncton’s planning advisory committee for consideration.
Council will hold a public hearing on May 15.