01/09/2025
This is a note we received from a concerned citizen and is worth reading . Great to see that our residents are involved in this process.
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Hi everyone,
I know this is long, but it's important - it's your property, buildings, and taxes that will be affected!
Background (sorry, this really is important for understanding what's going on 😬)
New Brunswick now consists of 78 municipalities and 12 rural districts.
- Municipalities have elected councils/mayors and by-laws.
- Rural districts have elected advisory boards, and soon "Rural Plans". These rural plans are NOT by-laws like a municipality, but actually higher authority as provincial regulation. So these plans have teeth 😮 - they are difficult and costly to change (minimum $1000 for an individual) - so please pay attention now, before it's done.
We live in the "Fundy Rural District" (map on website: https://www.fundyruraldistrict.com/ ), which actually consists of 4 physically unconnected pieces of land (why? one wonders 😂):
- Petersville/Welsford/Greenwich/part of Westfield West
and Kingston Peninsula/part of Norton
- Mispec/Cape Spencer
- former L*D Rothesay
-Upper Golden Grove
Services like landfill, public safety, tourism, economic development, etc., are now provided to us by the "Fundy Regional Service Commission" (FRSC) instead of the provincial government - to our rural area, but ALSO to Saint John, Grand Bay-Westfield, Hampton, Quispamsis, Rothesay, and the village of St. Martin's. All of these have a member on the FRSC Board, and services look different for each: for example, only Fundy Rural district and St. Martin's use the FRSC building inspector (and pay for that service).
We pay fees to the FRSC - those fees are based on tax base and services. They are paid through our property taxes. The FRSC budget (currently around $ 19 million) can be reviewed from their website.
So to summarize: The FRSC is the boss, on behalf of the province.
They are overseeing our Rural Plan development (hired someone to write it, formed a Working Group to advise him).
Rural Plan Development
Our rural district consists of very different areas - this matters when trying to develop a land usage plan.
For example, some people on the Kingston Peninsula are looking for development - subdivisions, apartments.
Mispec previously had a gold mine operating, with all the associated environmental damage (finally healing).
Many people in Fundy St.Martin's were not happy with their Rural Plan - apparently they didn't give much feedback to the planner as he wrote it (?).
What is this Rural Plan? Regulation to govern land use:
- zoning (agricultural vs light industrial vs residential vs ...), and what's allowed for property in each zone.
- requirements for property and structure appearance, size, location, and permit requirements,
- requirements for home business/industry, etc.
What does a rural plan look like?
- We can add a lot to the plan, or as little as possible...
- Things that must be included in the Plan:
* dictated by the "Community Planning Act" and the "Statement of Public Interest Regulation":
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Corporate/Promo/localgovreform/docs/user-guide.pdf
* must include policy regarding land use (residential, commercial, institutional, recreational, protection of water supplies, promote agriculture, climate change mitigation, etc.),
* must include proposals to accomplish the policy,
* must include definitions (e.g., "abattoir", "adult entertainment", "agricultural use", "building", etc.)
* must include zoning, zoning map
- 4 samples:
* Rural Plan for Westmoreland in Albert county (near Moncton) https://plan360.ca/media-planning/library/21-WAP-069-00_Bilingual_registered.pdf
* Rural Plan for Fundy St. Martin's https://static1.squarespace.com/static/66ed73111327c20b152e31a9/t/673658ebe2779d73c49f527f/1731614962656/Fundy-St3.-Martins-Rural-Plan.pdf
* For Simonds parish, Rothesay parish - linked on FRSC website under "planning" (these will be revoked when our Rural Plan is in place)
NOTE: these plans might include the influence of towns with by-laws; we don't have to.
What can the Plan do, and not do?
- Examples:
* use zoning requirements to force subdivisions to be located where there's existing infrastructure (town water supply, town sewage), or allow property to be subdivided and sold as lots with individual wells and septic tanks.
* require 5-acre lot vs 1-acre lot for new home, and/or allow granny suites on existing property, and/or...
* encourage tourism development (campgrounds, hiking trails, wilderness lodge, etc.) or not.
* home business regulation on signage, parking, access, ...
- We don't have to regulate which side of the house people can place a garden, or how many chickens they can have, or...
The planner stated he'd rather not have any regulations on gardens and animals in a Rural Plan😂.
- There are outstanding questions: for example, I own 600 acres and someone wants to lease my land for huge wind turbines. Do my neighbours get a say? What about crown land? (FYI: The province loves wind turbines).
- The Plan does NOT supersede provincial regulation - which are many 😉 ( the Clean Air Act, Clean Environment Act, Clean Water Act, Species At Risk Act, the Livestock Act, the Watercourse and Wetland Alteration Regulation, the Water Well Regulation, Envionmental Impact Assessments, etc.). So, if you have a watershed or water conservation area "pop up" near your house, does that mean you can't build anything ever again?
What about "grand-fathering" in existing structures? Ummm....
- The Plan is supposed to be able to "grand-father in" existing land use - but that means you have to be able to prove existing land use, i.e., prior to the plan.
- There is a current "inventory map" that shows the land in the rural district and how it's currently being used (contact Ray Riddell, I couldn't find the map online). The map was created by Service NB from property assessment data. Do hobby farms show up as agricultural? Home business shows up how and where?
- Grandfathering is uncertain, limited, and we should be asking tough questions of the planner! If it's not explicitly stated in the Plan, who knows how it will be enforced.
* Transferability: The "grandfathered" status often does not transfer to a new owner.
* Changes in Use: Abandoning or changing the use of the property can void the non-conforming status.
* Repairs and Renovations: While the non-conforming use may continue, any new construction, additions, or significant renovations on the property must meet the current building code and zoning requirements.
Who enforces the Plan?
- FRSC "public safety officers" and building inspectors (?)
How will this affect my property taxes? Ummmm...
Property tax is based in part on property assessment which in turn is based on market value - what affects the value of a property will cause an increase or decrease in value and hence assessed value.
Many things affect property value and taxes, some could be addressed in the Rural Plan:
- neighbouring properties (e.g., large pig farm or industry next door),
- water table (e.g., affected by water extraction for industry or for resale),
- population density (more population means more use of infrastructure like roads, policy, garbage pick-up, which means higher taxes - but also over a larger population base).
For example, if zoning is applied such that apartments are allowed, this increases population density, which probably increases property taxes.
What Can I Do about all this?
Schedule (tentative):
Sept-Oct 2025 Community outreach: survey online and by mail
Nov 2025-Jan 2026 Draft Rural Plan
March 2026 Updated Rural Plan
Summer 2026 Public Hearing
May-Dec 2026 Rural Plan finalized
1. A survey is coming in September. Answer it - add your comments, concerns, priorities.
2. Check out the website: https://www.fundyregion.ca/fundyruralplan
2. Take a quick look at the sample rural plans (above), decide what you like and what you don't: what do we value, what we don't want
--> eco-tourism promotion or not, population growth or not, more agricultural use (or fewer cows and roosters 😂)
3. Contact the planner and working group directly:
- Planner: phone 506-738-2014, email [email protected]
(also send a copy to Ray Riddell ([email protected]), always very helpful and responsive)
Working Group =
* Ray Riddell (from Woodman's Point) and Gina Sweet (Clifton Royal), representing the Fundy Rural District advisory commitee
* Rob Jeffrey (from Mispec) and Cindy MacCready (from Welsford), representing the FRSC (from their Planning Review and Advisory Committee (PRAC) that deals with subdivisions, building regulations, etc.)
* Larry Booker (Morrisdale) and Samara Carvell (Long Reach) as community members
Fundy Rural District Rural Plan Land use
