MPS review in Wolfville still divisive

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Last week, Wolfville councillors began to work on a number of minor amendments to the new town planning documents on a page-by-page basis.

Mayor Bob Stead called the new MPS a living, dynamic document that is not cast in stone or a static document. Speaking of the 1988 and 1996 planning reviews, he said this is a significant improvement over the previous ones.

Stead added he was disappointed the first draft “got us off on wrong foot and tore at fabric of the community in a process of misunderstanding.”

Development director Gregg Morrison said there is much to celebrate about the new MPS. It represents significant improvement in terms of maximum number of bedrooms, streamlines downtown improvements and allows for sustainable, energy improvements, a new active rail zone and transport focus, and enhanced architectural controls, he said.

Deputy Mayor Bob Wrye spent some time rebutting comments made by Keith Irving, Peter Drummond and David Daniels.

On a question by councillor Hugh Simpson about the goal of public engagement, planner Karen Dempsey said the process exceeded Municipal Government Act requirements.

Questions focus on residential requirements

Much of the discussion focused on residential requirements and whether there should be a change to the R1 zone to allow for personal offices or home occupations. Wrye said he believed the residents had spoken out against any change to R1, while councillors David Mangle and Bill Zimmerman wanted more leeway.

Simpson expressed his frustration at not having input into the deliberations for months, until “we get wedded to something. I am disappointed in the process. It has caused a great deal of division in the community.”

Councillor John MacKay called for fine-tuning to begin, asked plenty of questions and for one more public hearing. He suggested the engagement of council might have resulted from quarterly reports.

Zimmerman noted that hindsight is generally 20/20 and that vision by committee is not a compelling vision. He wondered if the process hadn’t been intimidated by loud voices.

Mangle said his wish is to look through the lens of a better Wolfville. “It was fairly simple. We did what we did with the best of intentions and caved into the pressure of certain people,” he said.

Simpson wanted to make an amendment enshrining R1 zoning as “part of Wolfville’s brand.” He added that for a retirement community, R1 is an attraction. The motion, which was seconded by MacKay, failed to win approval.

Dempsey noted that the town needs a variety of different types of housing. “The average price for a house in Nova Scotia is $150,000; in Wolfville it’s $250,000.”

Council will continue to debate planning documents Thursday, Aug. 28 without public input. A tentative final public hearing is likely set for Monday, Sept. 22.