The City of Saint John has published a draft version of its Zoning Bylaw, in preparation for public discussions in November. (See also the City’s ZoneSJ page.) The Zoning Bylaw is meant to ‘operationalize’ the land-use policies the community developed during the PlanSJ process. (The PlanSJ policy document — the Municipal Plan — available here.)

In the Planning Department’s words, the Zoning Bylaw “… establishes provisions and regulations for managing land use, including permitted uses and development standards.” In reality, that translates into a lot of things that have a direct impact on land owners, residents and business operators. Things like parking in the uptown and elsewhere. What you’re allowed to do with your property and — importantly — what your neighbours might do with theirs. Standards that affect the construction and renovation of buildings. Landscaping and signage standards. Streets and servicing. B&Bs and Day Cares. Even urban chicken farming.

Just as important are the things that don’t appear in the current draft of the bylaw. For example, telecommunications towers aren’t governed by the bylaw because the City simply doesn’t have the authority under Canadian law to do so. The Planning Department has also excluded some elements from the draft based on assumptions about municipal economic and intergovernmental strategy, perceived community interest, the City’s ability to enforce the bylaw, and other reasonable and practical factors. However, many of those exclusions can have a significant, long-term impact and warrant community discussion.

For example, the bylaw may not go far enough with respect to strategic control of uptown parking. There’s nothing in the current draft to address public transit. Stronger measures could be implemented regarding active transportation and accessibility. There are no requirements to buffer residential areas from the potential hazards of rail lines and industrial rights of way. The bylaw is silent on sidewalk provisioning other street infrastructure. Governance over pits and quarries may not meet community expectations. The City has deferred entirely to the Province on wetlands protection. And critically, there’s nothing to effectively address the need for affordable housing.

And there are some areas where ZoneSJ may not full align with the community’s intent expressed through PlanSJ. A new zoning designation, Future Development zoning, may warrant further examination.

And that’s the purpose of the upcoming public engagement period. This is the public’s chance to provide feedback to staff before the bylaw is presented to Common Council for approval.

To most Saint Johners, ZoneSJ may sound more like SnoozeSJ, but this bylaw is the translation of PlanSJ’s visionary policies into actual, enforceable law, and it will affect the lives of Saint John residents and property owners for decades to come. (The last Municipal Plan and its resulting bylaws were in effect for 40 years!) If we don’t get it right, we’ll all experience the costs and frustrations of getting it wrong over the years to come. It will affect us personally as residents, landowners, business owners, workers, drivers, cyclists, transit users, seniors, community advocates, and — yes — urban chicken people.

Take the time to read through the City’ excellent ZoneSJ guide. Read the bylaw itself. Attend one of the City’s public engagement sessions from Oct 30 to Nov 7. Email your comments to the Planning Department. Let your City Councillor know what you think. And come back to this site from time to time as we look at the bylaw in the context of PlanSJ and try to examine key issues.