Future site of proposed Co-op housing along Trestle Trail. Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens Council voted in favour of rezoning for 26 units of affordable housing in Liverpool.

In November, Council approved selling four adjoining lots between Lawrence and Amherst streets and Trestle Trail and the Queens Street Extension to Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd, an offshoot of the Queens Care Society group for one dollar.

The area is currently zoned for Lower Density Residential and needs to be redesignated for Multiple Unit Residential to accommodate the two proposed buildings.

The municipality’s Planning Advisory Committee approved the proposed development at their June 19 meeting. Council approved the rezoning at Tuesday’s council meeting following a public hearing where no one spoke for or against the proposed development.

If the rezoning is upheld a public notice will be issued Aug 16 and the four parcels will be rezoned Multiple Unit Residential effective Aug 31.

Mayor Darlene Norman says council wants to do everything it can to get this project of the ground as everyone is aware of the desperate need for more housing.

“We’re a year and a half in already from the time we first started talking about council selling the land,” said Norman. “Because then you have to go through the public hearing of selling it for a dollar and all other such things, and then the deeds, and then the rezoning, so we’re going through this as quickly as we can.”

At an expected cost of $6 million, the development will require funding from several sources and the cooperation of different levels of governments and other agencies.

The municipality has already committed $203,000 in the 2023-24 budget for the group to complete predevelopment work on the site including project management and engineering fees, architectural drawings costs and a landscape architect as well as initial site clearing, road access excavation and digging test pits.

Norman says the Region will continue to assist the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd.

“It’s their project so we’re not sticking our nose in it, but everything they need, every help they want, they come see us,” said Norman.

The new development will focus on seniors but aims to be inclusive and diverse.

As a co-op, the units will be owned by members who will form a democratically elected board of directors to make decisions about maintenance or improvements of their units. In the co-op model, members will not build equity in their unit like a private homeowner. Instead that equity will be used to build more units and pay off the development over a longer mortgage period, between 40 and 50 years, keeping the units affordable.
As one occupant leaves, the next occupant won’t be faced with a massive increase in housing costs.

The board of the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd. is working to break ground on the new development in early spring of 2024.

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Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson

Rezoning of an area to accommodate to construction of co-op housing topped the latest meeting of Region of Queens council.

No one spoke in favour or against the proposed multi-unit co-op development at a public hearing ahead of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Council approved the rezoning to allow the construction in the Lawrence Street/Amherst Street part of Liverpool.

Also receiving council approval was a request from the Medway Head Lighthouse Society to allow liquor to be served at the opening night of their annual art show.

Council then approved the $314,700 + HST purchase of a front-end loader for the Queens solid waste facility. The purchase came in over $70,000 less than the budgeted amount of $385,000 + HST.

Next up was the appointment of Miles Harlow as Fire Inspector for the municipality. Harlow is a building inspector for the Region and will continue in that role as he takes on the responsibilities of fire inspector alongside the municipality’s current sole fire inspector Tim Clattenburg.

In the discussion portion of the meeting, a question was asked during the Council Implementation Report as to what progress is being made to sell off some the Region’s surplus properties.

Planning staff had been tasked with developing a policy for the equitable sale of surplus lands but say there hasn’t been time. They are processing a high number of permits which need to take priority over the policy development.

Next council tasked staff with cleaning up graffiti on municipally owned property in Port Mouton.

The first quarter financial review continues to show high deed transfer tax payments. The deed-transfer tax puts 1.5 percent from the sale of any property in Queens into municipal coffers. Staff had predicted $720,000 in tax revenue for the entire year but has taken in $321,905 in just the first three months of the year, almost half of what they were expecting for all of 2023/24.

Finally, council is looking at installing security cameras in the recreation areas at Queens Place after vandals have been leaving broken glass and graffiti throughout the campus. Staff will explore options and bring a report back to council at the next meeting that will outline possible solutions and costs.

The next council meeting will be held in council chambers on September 12 beginning at 9:00am.

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Future site of proposed Co-op housing along Trestle Trail. Photo Ed Halverson

A Liverpool co-op housing project is closer to becoming a reality as it makes its way through the development process.

Region of Queens sold the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd four parcels of land for a dollar in November 2022 to build 26 units of affordable housing.

The housing cooperative petitioned Region of Queens council to rezone the 2.6-acre property at the last council meeting.

Before any building permits can be issued, the land bordered by Amherst, Brunswick, and Lawrence Street on three sides and the Trestle Trail on the other needs to be rezoned.

The area is currently zoned for Lower Density Residential and needs to be redesignated for Multiple Unit Residential to accommodate the two proposed buildings.

The development has already been approved by the Planning Advisory Committee at their June 19 meeting.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says the Co-op housing group is still busily working behind the scenes to move the project forward as they await the rezoning.

“When you’re building these multi-unit residences there’s things you need to consider. You need to have the engineers look at the ground and site suitability and all that,” said Norman. “So they’re getting all their background work done and I guess my answer would be no, they would not be given a building permit to start any of this until it was rezoned although it would not prevent them from doing site work.”

Council voted in favour of the rezoning and a public meeting will be held before the start of the August 8 Region of Queens Council meeting.

If the rezoning is upheld a public notice will be issued Aug 16 and the four parcels will be rezoned Multiple Unit Residential effective Aug 31.

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Photo Ed Halverson

Region of Queens council were on the road at the fire hall in Port Medway for their latest meeting.

Council gave the go ahead on a plan to build a “Lost at Sea Memorial” in Fort Point Park.

Councillors offered broad support for the project but took note of staff recommendations to avoid underground infrastructure on the site and to place the monument without disturbing existing trees.

Following a discussion, a motion will come before council at a future meeting to spend up to $12,000 for leadership training to provide better coordination between the five fire departments and the municipality.*

The training comes at the request of the five department chiefs and the money will be spent on a facilitator to provide the training.

A request has also been extended from the Emergencies Measures officer to neighbouring municipalities to enter into a mutual aid agreement in the event of severe storms or other large-scale emergencies.

Queens currently has an agreement in place with Shelburne and would like to include the municipalities in Lunenburg County as well.

The second quarter budget update shows deed transfers are already above budgeted expectations.

It appears land sales, particularly in the Molega Lake area are driving the increase.

The municipality is spending more for waste collection as fuel surcharges are averaging $8,000 – $10,000 more per month due to the high price at the pumps.

Mayor Darlene Norman added an item to the agenda requesting council permission to send a letter to the province voicing opposition to any expansion of fish farms in Queens.

Norman is concerned untreated fecal matter from farms will pollute the shallow bays in which they are located damaging the environment and negatively impacting other industries, most notably, the lobster fishery.

“I would sincerely hope that the provincial government recognizes and somehow finds a way to simply state, this province is not a suitable place, in our coastal bays, to be growing salmon”

Finally, council approved a motion that came from in-camera to sell four small parcels of land to the Queens Care Society around the Lawrence and Brunswick Street area of Liverpool.

The aim is to use the use the land to provide affordable, co-op housing.

The plan will come to a public hearing at the council meeting on November 22.

Council will hold their next meeting back in council chambers at 9:00am November 8.

* A previous version of the story indicated council had approved spending $12,000 for leadership training of the fire chiefs. The story has been edited to reflect a discussion was had and the motion will come before council at a future meeting.

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