Four Dwelling Units

Fredericton is experiencing significant residential growth with record levels of housing construction. Permits for more than 3,800 new residential units have been issued in our City in the last 5 years. The Fredericton Metropolitan Area is Canada’s 9^th fastest growing urban region and the City’s population increased by almost 3,000 over the past year alone. On a per-capita basis, Fredericton ranks 14^th in all of Canada in terms of new housing built since 2017 yet the City-wide vacancy rate for rental housing is under one percent.

The City manages development through the Growth Strategy, the Municipal Plan, and the Zoning By-law. Most of our new residential development is planned to occur in our Urban Core on both sides of the river and Residential Growth Areas in new neighbourhoods such as the Cliffe Street area and the lands south of Bishop Drive. Cities, however, are constantly evolving and our Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan encourage new housing in existing neighbourhoods that is sensitively integrated. The rules that guide that new development are set out in the City’s Zoning By-law.

Housing is a big challenge in our community. The City’s 2022 Affordable Housing Strategy requires that Council pursue zoning reform to create additional opportunities for housing throughout the City. Increasing the use of as-of-right approval processes and providing greater flexibility with by-law amendments for increased gentle density in neighbourhoods throughout the City allows for continued growth and increased housing availability.

Allowing 4 dwelling units on a property is a way to permit incremental new residential density in our established neighbourhoods. It is generally considered to be more affordable as it is small-scale development that can be pursued by anyone, not just large residential land developers.

Why is the City considering allowing 4 dwelling units?

The City of Fredericton has accepted funding from the Government of Canada Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). Among the requirements for HAF is the need for the City to adopt Zoning By-law amendments that would allow 4 dwelling units on all fully-serviced residentially zoned properties.

Why now?

The City committed to making these changes to the City’s Zoning By-law by the end of June, 2025. Completing these amendments is important because eligibility for other Government of Canada funding is conditional on the adoption of these new standards.

How will these changes unfold?

Staff have developed a balanced approach for advancing the City’s HAF obligation to permit 4 units on all serviced residential properties. The proposed amendments focus on permitting one or more secondary dwelling units to achieve additional density. The City’s approach provides property owners with flexible ways of achieving residential intensification that will work for both home-owners and owners of rental properties. The main aspects of the proposed amendments include the following:

• Combining zones to increase flexibility and reduce redundancy (R-1, R-1N and R-2 combine to form a new R-1 zone; TP-2 and TP-3 combine to form a new TP-2 zone);
• Allowing up to 3 secondary dwelling units (SDUs) on a lot in all low rise residential zones subject to minimum lot area and frontage standards;
• Adding the garage apartment as a new SDU type (unit over detached garage) with associated development standards to address privacy as well as massing and height of the upper level;
• Reducing minimum lot area and frontage standards;
• Revising parking rules specifically for SDUs to provide more flexibility including tandem parking and parking in the required front yard (on a driveway only) among others;
• Reducing driveway and parking aisle widths for all developments up to 4 units for more flexibility;
• Reducing the number of required parking spaces for new development up to 4 units.

The proposed zoning changes open the door to many new housing solutions. They will allow first-time homeowners to have new flexibility to have additional housing units that can be rented to assist with the high home ownership costs. The units may provide homes for adult children, family members with disabilities or aging parents to remain in the neighbourhood they have called home. The new standards will also provide new options for home owners that want to down size but stay in their home by allowing the conversion of unused space into affordable housing for community members. These amendments provide the opportunity for all property owners to become part of the solution for our housing challenges.