Riverview, N.B. residents oppose rezoning allowing apartment construction in rural area

A group of Riverview, N.B., residents is strongly opposed to the proposed rezoning of a wooded area on Hillsborough road that would allow for the construction of two apartment buildings.

If the rezoning goes ahead, one 36-unit building and one 18-unit building would be built on the 2.45-acre lot, with a parking lot with 70 spaces.

The lot is just down the road from the house Michael McBurnie and his husband purchased in 2020.

“First and foremost we’re concerned about flooding and the influx of water coming off of the roofline and the parking lot,” he said.

He said his and neighbouring homes already experienced frequent flooding each spring and he fears developing the land would worsen the issue.

Both apartment buildings are planned to be three storeys high according to the proposal, which McBurnie said creates privacy concerns.

“We’re highly concerned about property values, our privacy…” he said noting that he and the others in the group purchased their homes knowing the neighbouring plots of land were zoned for single unit dwellings.

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The proposal does include a six-metre-wide landscape buffer, which nearby resident Andrew Curwin argues doesn’t provide enough privacy.

Curwin’s backyard is directly in front of the lot.

“When we built our property we did our due diligence,” Curwin said.

“Part of our due diligence was ensuring we were bordering on a (single-unit dwelling) zone lot, for fear it could have been a multi-unit dwelling construction. If it had been a (multi-unit residential zoning) we never would have bought the property.

Riverview is growing rapidly, with a vacancy rate of 0.2 per cent according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data.

Curwin said he supports more housing being built in the town, but doesn’t think a rural residential area is the place for it.

Curwin, McBurnie, and other concerned residents are planning on bringing their concerns to Riverview Town Council at a public hearing planned for July 10th.

Both McBurnie and Curwin are considering selling their homes if the proposed rezoning goes ahead.