A new 62 page municipal draft plan has been released on Monday and the city of Fredericton is looking for feedback from residents.
After a year of planning, the municipal plan sets out a road map on how to design and organize growth in the capital city.
The objective of Imagine Fredericton: The Municipal Plan is to define a vision for the future that supports a growing, diverse community.
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The city and developers have faced ongoing historic site conflicts with conservationists, with section 3.5 of the plan speaking to the importance of the development, and management of historic sites.
“We need to keep those around I think they are important part of our heritage, and I think just putting up a new apartment building I know its generating money etc. but it’s a shame that we’re losing our historical properties,” said Lorie Gorman, a Fredericton Resident.
“I would prefer to have some historical buildings over more apartments,” Brandon Bettle, another Resident.
The city says it recognizes the significance of protecting historic sites but says residents have to be aware the city is changing and expanding.
“There always has to be a balance, how do you judge it well that’s why we have debates, that’s why we have these questions that are asked,” said Dominic Leach, a resident of the city.
Thousands of Fredericton locals offered their input and the consultation was the largest engagement process in the city’s history.
“Through that we have shaped with professionals staff and consultants the vision for how we want our downtown to grow and look, how we want our parks to be connected, active transportation, where we want our commercial sectors to grow, how we want to be robust environmentally and sustainable financially,” said Mike O’Brien, Fredericton Mayor.
The plan also calls for new recreation spaces, improving the quality of parks and connecting them with trails.
“Fredericton trails are awesome, that’s why a lot of people come to the town so it’s nice to have more trails so people can get out and be active,” said Gorman.
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According to the new municipal plan, by 2041 the city’s population is projected to increase by more than 50% from 60,000 in 2016 to over 90,000. The plan will come before council in August to begin the final adoption process.
Comments or questions can be directed to the City of Fredericton Community Planning Division planning @fredericton.ca.
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