The City of Saint John invites residents to attend the Zoning Bylaw Reform Open House and Shape Your City

The City of Saint John is in the process of undertaking zoning bylaw reform and is inviting residents to provide feedback on the proposed changes at a public open house event and the Shape Your City public engagement platform. This event provides another opportunity to visualize how these changes will support housing development and provides an opportunity to speak directly with city staff about how these changes will benefit the community. 

The Government of Canada launched the Housing Accelerator Fund in Spring 2023 to support local governments in creating transformational changes to boost housing supply. The city aims to achieve a Housing Supply Growth Target of 1,124 net new residential units over the next three years.  

To ensure the success of this ambitious goal, the city has developed a comprehensive HAF Housing Action Plan including the creation of supportive policy and regulatory conditions for building new housing, providing more housing options, and diversifying construction types.   

To facilitate this the city is proposing the following changes to the Zoning By-law: 

• Increase the as-of-right number of permitted units within fully serviced residential zones to four.  

• Increase the maximum number of dwelling units permitted within the residential intensification areas to six as appropriate. 

• Increase density in proximity to post-secondary education institutions and primary corridors. 

• Increase the maximum height allowance in the Mid-rise Residential zone (RM) to five to six storeys.  

• Permit garden suites and secondary suites within all residential zones as appropriate. 

The amendments accompany the City’s other affordable housing initiatives, including those outlined in the HAF agreement, to help address the housing needs of current and future residents.  

There will be a presentation followed by an opportunity to meet with staff to share your thoughts or questions regarding the proposed zoning by-law changes. The public is invited to attend the information session for this project: 

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2024 

Place: Crown Plaza Saint John Harbour View Hotel, 10 Portland Street, Saint John 

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

To learn more or to share you feedback at anytime regarding the proposed changes, please visit our Shape Your City Page.   

Here to help – For inquiries related to municipal services, contact the City of Saint John Customer Service Centre at (506) 658-4455, email service@saintjohn.ca or visit us in person on the Ground Floor of City Hall, 15 Market Square, Monday to Thursday (excluding holidays), 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.