The Municipal District of St. Stephen (MDSS) has released its full municipal plan, which was drafted by the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission.
A municipal plan is designed to govern the development, implementation and creation of bylaws within municipal boundaries.
Several areas of interest were identified by the SNBSC as priorities for this new municipal plan – which takes in the more rural areas of MDSS.
“Last year, we did a study of the geography of the community, the finances, the economy of the community and we’re required to do this by the Community Planning Act,” said SNBSC planning director Alex Henderson.
The plan is only in its draft form and is subject to amendments by the council.
For its priorities, the public identified affordable apartments and housing, support for industrial and small businesses, reducing the cost of municipal fees that could impede development, protecting the water quality and natural resources, revitalizing the downtown, improving its image for visitors and potential hotel development, making parks more fun with year-round activities, and addressing homelessness in a compassionate and fair manner.
It also identified improvement of local streets and infrastructure, a direct focus on crime and dangerous and unsightly properties, and protecting rural freedom and agriculture.
Each section has information on how to directly influence these priorities.
Creating different zoning categories
Like many municipalities, the plan included dividing up different areas into a zoning scale.
Industrial, residential, and rural, according to Henderson. Those depend on the type of development.
He explained these also deal with the cost structure, saying the plan talks about reduced water and sewer rates and garbage collection to make multi-unit development appealing.
“The municipality could leverage some of its surplus properties to attract development,” he said. “And also use its development incentives bylaw.”
He also said Future St. Stephen, the municipality’s economic development arm, could help with the industrial park, as well as promote businesses within the downtown, but outside as well.
The sale of surplus properties includes, potentially, the region’s airport and the current RCMP station, according to the municipal plan.
Any sale of the RCMP station, the plan states, would be contingent on whether that impacts the coverage and services of the police in the area.
It also suggested reducing the allocation to the Business Improvement Association – lowering its levy to just 0.01 per $100 of assessment. The budget for the BIA is roughly $26,000 based on a rate of 0.20 per $100 of assessment.
Protecting waterways and natural resources
The plan details many ways the community could be protecting waterways, water supply, and natural resources in the community.
Recently, Coun. Brian Cornish asked the council and the mayor to write the province asking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to investigate potential pollution in the St. Croix River.
As part of the plan, it recommends grandfathering out old septic systems too close to the St. Croix River and establishing higher-priority conservation zones.
It also recommends charging abandoned property owners, who no longer pay rates for water and sewer, to help fund repairs needed to municipal water and sewer infrastructure.
The municipality recently fell under a boil water order for two weeks following a leak discovered in the system.
Revitalizing the downtown
MDSS has been working for several years to attract a hotelier but has been unable to secure such a development.
The new plan recommends several things, including the revitalization of the downtown.
“Get some high-quality good development that will help make downtown more vibrant,” Henderson said.
It talked specifically about a facade improvement grant program, as well.
Homelessness in the community
The public had identified it wanted to see the municipality address homelessness in St. Stephen. Those experiencing homelessness in MDSS hovers around 100 people.
Several properties in the area owned by an out-of-province landlord have created instability in the housing market there, as well as being the subject of several Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act investigations and seizures–some due to illegal drug activity.
Henderson said the new plan calls for the municipality to advocate with government, non-profit, and non-governmental stakeholders to help provide safe, affordable, dignified transitional, supportive, and complex-care housing for those living unsheltered in the community.
It seeks to pre-plan for future shelters to be accessible to necessary services but also to work with non-profits to phase out the current shelter location.
The current shelter was set up at 9 Main Street, which is in proximity to residential homes and the downtown of St. Stephen.
As well, it proposes that if a shelter is intended to be outside the pre-planned zoned that it be done with public consultation.
Improve local streets and infrastructure
The plan proposes applying a long-term asset management plan to make regular street replacements based on a fixed schedule.
In August 2024, the municipality saw a report that showed a $17-million backlog of road reconstruction projects. It began some of the work in this year’s budget.
The plan also seeks to reduce repaving costs, lower speeds, and, therefore, improve safety by adopting narrow municipal streets.
In February, the community fell under a two-week boil water advisory amid failures of equipment at its Maxwell Crossing facility.
The council has also discussed the aging nature of its lift station – although there is money in the 2025 budget for a replacement.
Direct focus on crime prevention and unsightly premises
A big focus identified was a salvage yard near the interchange between Route 1 and Route 3 – the plan seeks to acquire the property to have it cleaned up or impose rules that it be brought up to standard under the unsightly premises bylaw.
“In general, dangerous and unsightly enforcement is a very important service and could be done with the goal of improving community safety,” Henderson said during the presentation.
The plan would seek, if possible, to clean up and mitigate dangerous and unsightly properties – which could improve community safety and deter certain types of crime.
It also proposes using funds from surplus property sales, including the aforementioned RCMP station, to create a revolving fund for the enforcement of the Act.
Municipalities are required to pay upfront for demolition or clean up of properties and then are reimbursed by the provincial government.
“There is a functional limit to how many of those you can do in a year, so it is good to have those reserve funds to do that work,” he said.
Protecting rural freedom, farming
The final priority was protecting rural freedom, promoting agricultural development, and supporting local farms.
According to the presentation, the plan seeks to establish an R-3 zone to protect from encroachment of suburban-style residential expansion.
“We also have quite a lot of folks in rural areas that don’t want to have town-style bylaws apply to them, so we have to make sure the zoning is reflective of what rural residents have asked for,” Henderson said.
Next steps
The plan has been presented to the council and will enter a 30-day period where the public can submit feedback on the plan, with written submissions.
Afterward, the council can set a date for a public hearing of objections, standard to any formal adoption of a bylaw, and potentially first reading.
The timeline of approval is determined by the council in the coming months. A full copy of the plan can be found here from page 5 to 65.
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