Fredericton considers replacing RCMP with own police force in annexed parts of city
Proposed plan would cost city about $232K more annually than the 2023 cost to use RCMP
But the plan will cost taxpayers $523,756 more in the first year, and $232,280 more annually, than what it currently costs for the RCMP to police those areas.
On Tuesday, councillors approved in principle that plan as part of its 2024 budget process. It will require further deliberations going into November before it is formally approved.
The vote in favour of the plan comes after a presentation by Deputy Chief Scott Patterson last month about why it would be better for the Fredericton Police Force to replace the RCMP in areas that became part of city jurisdiction on Jan. 1.
"We had a call in the newly [annexed] area around Pepper Creek — somebody shot at a house," said Patterson, giving an example during his presentation to the city's public safety committee.
"Within minutes, we had five police cars there and all the other resources and backups that we need to respond to that. The first lone RCMP vehicle showed up 10 to 15 minutes later."
More territory, more people
The newly annexed parts of Fredericton were the result of provincewide local government reforms that saw some municipalities amalgamated, and others, like Fredericton, grow in size.
Patterson said Fredericton's territory grew by 48 per cent, and its population grew by about eight per cent.
The
size of Fredericton's territory grew in size by about 48 per cent as a
result of local government reform. The red dotted line represents the
city's former boundary, while the black dotted line represents the new
boundary. (City of Fredericton)
Those new areas include the property of the Fredericton International Airport, the Pepper Creek area, Douglas, and the Killarney Road area north of Killarney Lake Park.
Patterson said the Fredericton Police Force would need one new criminal investigations detective, one new community services officer, another police dog, four new patrol officers and two new civilian members to effectively police those areas.
He said the most common calls in the past year for the new areas, aside from the airport, have been for incidents involving intimate partner violence, persons in mental distress, and property crime.
Patterson
says Fredericton police officers would likely be responding to calls
about theft, contraband and traffic accidents at the Fredericton
International Airport if the force took over that jurisdiction. (Submitted by Fredericton International Airport)
As for the airport, Patterson said the force doesn't expect to need a dedicated unit as is typical with larger airports like Toronto Pearson.
"We're going to be looking after the minor stuff, the thefts, the contraband calls, somebody caught with drugs, if there's an accident in the parking lot. That kind of thing," he said.
For this year, the city is paying the RCMP $879,273 to police those areas, Patterson said.
If councillors go ahead with the proposal put forward by the Fredericton Police Force, it would cost the city about $800,000 next year, as $700,000 was already budgeted last year to hire the four patrol officers and two civilian staff.
Patterson said the city could expect the eight new staff and additional police dog to cost $1,111,553 annually going forward.
Asking the province for help
Steve Hart, Fredericton's chief administrative officer, said the property taxes for the newly annexed areas currently bring in about $880,000 that go toward policing.
Proceeding with the police force's plan would leave about a $500,000 deficit in the first year, and about a $250,000 deficit every year going forward.
"We've asked the province if they'd be willing to enter into discussions with us to see if they'd be willing to provide some funding support ... and by nature of that, reducing the burden on our property tax for those areas," Hart said.
Hart said the city was still waiting for a response from the province.
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"Within minutes, we had five police cars there and all the other resources and backups that we need to respond to that. The first lone RCMP vehicle showed up 10 to 15 minutes later."
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Hart said the city was still waiting for a response from the province.
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Hart said the city was still waiting for a response from the province.
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Councillor concerned parking requirements standing in way of more affordable housing
Applicant says parking requirement for 8-storey buildings would make proposal more expensive
Rob Leblanc of Fathom Studios presented a proposal to councillors Tuesday for the creation of a housing complex consisting of apartment buildings, townhouses and single detached homes near the intersection of McLeod Hill and Royal roads that would create a total of 1,475 units.
Leblanc told councillors he's seeking to have some of the lots rezoned from MR-2 to MR-5 to take advantage of a density allowance of 76 square metres per unit.
However, he said whereas the developer would have been allowed to construct the buildings to a maximum of eight storeys, they're only going to build them to a maximum of six storeys due to the number of parking spaces that would be required with having two additional floors.
Fathom
Studio has applied for zoning amendments to accommodate the
construction of a vast residential housing complex east of McLeod Hill
Road near the intersection with Royal Road. (City of Fredericton)
"To get to the eight storeys, you would have to move a significant amount of the parking underground," said Leblanc, speaking to councillors.
"We've been looking at the affordability of this development, and there's some real benefits to moving parking underground, but affordability is not one of them.
"A surface parking space is about $4,000, and an underground parking space in Fredericton is probably 35 to $40,000, so that adds significant cost to it."
City bylaws require that new buildings have one parking spot for every bachelor or one-bedroom unit, 1.5 spaces for every two-bedroom unit, and 1.75 spaces for every three-bedroom unit.
Requirement hurts affordability: councillor
Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc said the challenge Rob Leblanc expressed shows there isn't one single fix to make housing more affordable.
Coun.
Cassandra LeBlanc says changes to parking requirements for new
apartment buildings could help with creating more affordable housing. (Aidan Cox/CBC)
"I think it's important for us to not just think about affordable housing in the context of building housing, but also the context of revising our zoning bylaws to allow for more density," Cassandra LeBlanc said.
"Because right now ... a lot of developments are leading to giant parking lots that just add to the climate crisis, and also prevent us from doing more density and affordable housing."
Rob Leblanc said his architectural firm has done work in Halifax and Charlottetown, where he's seen a move away from planning requirements around parking spaces for apartments in certain areas.
"There's an awful lot of benefits to that, and especially if you can focus on transit and active transportation, making sure that there's other forms of transportation around," he said.
"But in absence of that, just even reducing the parking requirements from the one point fives and one point four [spaces per unit], down to point eights, point sevens, makes a big difference."
Councillors gave preliminary approval to the application, and a final vote on it will be held later this month.
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Fredericton considers replacing RCMP with own police force in annexed parts of city
Proposed plan would cost city about $232K more annually than the 2023 cost to use RCMP
Aidan Cox · CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2023 1:35 PM ADT
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They're likely referring to the large area of solar energy-absorbing asphalt that will persist for decades, and the energy-intensive process to make and lay asphalt.
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Timothy Walton
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