Charlottetown can't afford more urban sprawl, says deputy mayor

The City of Charlottetown will hear from residents this week about how to add more housing density within the city's existing footprint.

Council is holding four public consultation sessions over the next few days to let people weigh in on long-awaited updates to Charlottetown's official plan.

At the centre of the discussions will be a concept called "gentle infilling" — increasing housing density within the city's limits, building new multi-unit structures on vacant lots and spots where old buildings must be demolished — instead of continuing to build outward.

With the city's population expected to grow by tens of thousands of people over the next 25 years, Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov said gentle infilling is needed from both a housing point of view and an economic perspective.

"Back when this official plan was first developed, Charlottetown was very flat, so we need to look at ways [of] building up versus out. The city can't afford it," Jankov said.

"You think about the infrastructure that needs to be put in place … when you do the sprawl. If you go out too far, you're hitting into farmland, and we want to preserve that too."

'We have to make these hard decisions because the population is growing,' says Charlottetown Deputy Mayor Alanna Jankov. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Charlottetown's new official plan will eventually outline how P.E.I.'s capital will grow and develop over the next 20 years.

This draft marks the first significant update to the plan since it was first developed in 1999.

The updates were initially expected in late 2023, but Jankov said the finalized plan should now come to council by September of this year.

The city cleared a path for some increased housing density back in February by agreeing to make changes to its building permit and zoning rules in order to be able to tap into money from the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund.

Dark green areas are considered a priority for growth in the draft official plan. (City of Charlottetown)

That included $10 million to fast-track the construction of 300 new housing units over the next three years. In exchange, council agreed to allow four-unit buildings on existing residential lots "where appropriate," and increased the maximum building height from six to eight storeys near post-secondary institutions and in high-growth areas.

'It's such a passionate space'

Jankov said the majority of new housing density would be added along the main corridors into Charlottetown, including University Avenue, Mount Edward Road, Kensington Road and North River Road.

But the councillor said a discussion also needs to take place about adding more units to the city's historic downtown core south of Euston Street, known as the 500 Lots Heritage Area — and that's an idea not popular with some residents of that area.

The 500 Lots area of Charlottetown, as it was structured in 1878. (City of Charlottetown)

"I think there's still an opportunity to do that gentle infill in the 500 Lots area, but we do have to be mindful … because it is our historic area," she said.

"It will be a difficult area for us all to discuss because it is such a passionate space in Charlottetown, but on the other side, we do have to do hard things and we have to make these hard decisions because the population is growing."

Jankov stressed that no final decisions have been made yet. She encouraged residents to come to the feedback sessions over the next three days to discuss the proposed official plan directly with consultants.

The consultations are Monday at the Malcolm J. Darrach Community Centre from 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday at the Charlottetown Library's learning centre from 5 to 8:30 p.m., and Wednesday at the Rodd Royalty from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.