Ryan MacLean with UPLAND Planning and Design Studio takes people through the options regarding a proposed change to how residential developments are handled in downtown Liverpool. (Rick Conrad/File)

It was a small group, but an opinionated one.

Some Queens County business owners and residents who responded to a survey don’t want a bylaw change that could dramatically alter Liverpool’s Main Street commercial landscape.

Developer Eric Fry of SDL Investments Limited wants the Region of Queens to amend its land use bylaw to allow him to build a 16-unit apartment building in the old Stedmans space at 194 Main St.

The bylaw allows residential development downtown only in buildings with a primary commercial use.

Fry doesn’t plan any commercial presence in the building. So he applied to the region in February to change the bylaw.

The region held public engagement sessions on June 17 and 19 for business owners and residents. It also created an online feedback form that was available from June 12 to 24.

Consultants UPLAND Planning of Halifax conducted the sessions and survey. 

​​The public had three options to consider: to allow residential developments in the commercial district as a main use by right, to allow them by development agreement which would require council approval, or to stay with the status quo and reject any amendments to the bylaw.

In their report for this week’s regular council meeting, UPLAND said seven people who weren’t members of the region’s planning advisory committee, the media or council attended the engagement sessions at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Thirty people replied to the online survey. Nineteen of those said they live in Liverpool, while 17 said they live in another part of Queens County.

Eighteen of the 30 respondents said they were either fully or somewhat supportive of changing the bylaw to remove the commercial requirement.

Ten were either fully or somewhat against it.

But 90 per cent of the business owners who responded were against a bylaw change. They said they were concerned about eroding the commercial area.

Half of the business owners said they would support standalone residential use by development agreement. And 40 per cent said they wanted no change to the current bylaw.

Many people were concerned that there seems to be no vision or strategic plan for Main Street or downtown Liverpool. They want to see a plan driven by the community, not by developers.

Some were also frustrated by the lack of communication from the region about the proposal, the engagement sessions or the survey. 

And the consultants found that there was a divide between those who want to see more housing downtown and those who want to preserve Main Street as a commercial zone. 

Councillors are due to discuss the report at Tuesday morning’s council meeting, which begins at 9.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Ryan MacLean with UPLAND Planning and Design Studio explains the options regarding a proposed change to how residential developments are handled in downtown Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

It was a small turnout for the first public engagement session about a proposed change to downtown development in Liverpool.

Developer Eric Fry wants to turn the old Stedmans building at 194 Main St. in Liverpool into 16 apartments. 

The Region of Queens land use bylaw allows residential development downtown only in buildings with a primary commercial use.

Three options are on the table for the public to consider: to allow residential developments in the commercial district as a main use by right, to allow them by development agreement which would require council approval, or to stay with the status quo and reject any amendments to the bylaw.

The first drop-in session on Tuesday evening was geared toward the business community. The second session is focused on hearing from residents. That is scheduled for Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the community room at Queens Place Emera Centre. There is also an online survey available.

The region hired UPLAND Planning and Design Studio from Halifax to lead the public engagement. Two representatives from that company were at Tuesday’s session, along with Mike MacLeod, the region’s director of land use.

Ryan MacLean, an engagement manager with UPLAND, said they’ve already heard a variety of opinions.

“People have expressed great support for any opportunity to increase residential development, expressing their concerns around the housing crisis, but then we’ve also heard concern around the potential for if you permit more residential uses, then it could erode the commercial character of the downtown.”

Beach Meadows resident Mary White is a member of the region’s planning advisory committee, which recommended having the public sessions.

She doesn’t want the bylaw to change. And she said she’d like to see the region do more to support local businesses.

“I think that we need to maintain the commercial spaces on Main Street and I think that we need to decide as a community what we want the future of our community to be. And if that’s to have a main core then we need to support that. And as a municipality, I would hope they would get together and decide some intitiatives to help the (businesspeople) that are there that have been struggling and hanging on for so long.”

Rigel Jones, executive director of the South Queens Chamber of Commerce, said she was staying open-minded about any changes to downtown development.

“I know the feedback we’ve gotten from members in the chamber is they’re struggling with foot traffic and that having more residents on main street could change that.”

Liverpool resident Paul Deveau said he’s against the bylaw change, though he’s in favour of more residential development on Main Street.

“I firmly believe that, yes, we should allow some apartments to be built down there under the current use. All across Canada municipality have come up with urban plans for their main streets. … It’s a work-live-play. So they should have apartments on top of these businesses but still have the businesses stay. The moment you start allowing them to be converted into residential that’s the moment that all the street is going to be turned into residential because that’s where they’re going to make the most money.”

He said he’s happy the municipality is “finally” having some public engagement, but said two sessions aren’t enough for such a significant discussion.

The consultants will prepare a report for council by the end of June. The region’s planning advisory committee will then review the report and make recommendations to council.

If there are proposed amendments to the land use bylaw, councillors would vote on those. If they’re approved initially, then there would be a two-week notice period for a public hearing to be held before the final vote.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below

Eric Fry of SDL Investments Limited is hoping to build 16 apartments in the old Stedmans building on Main Street in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED Mon., June 2 at 4:45 p.m.

The public will be able to give their feedback on a proposed new apartment building on Main Street in Liverpool that may result in a significant change to the downtown landscape.

The Region of Queens is considering an application from Eric Fry, president of SDL Investments Limited, to turn the former Stedmans building at 194 Main St. into 16 apartments. It was most recently used by a real estate development company. And before that, it housed a discount store and office space on the ground floor.

The region’s land use bylaw permits residential units on Main Street only in buildings with a commercial storefront.

The proposal from Fry’s SDL Investments Ltd. does not have any commercial element.

That means the land use bylaw would have to be amended for the project to go ahead. And that requires a public hearing.

The region’s planning advisory committee discussed the proposal in May.

Deputy Mayor Maddie Charlton, a member of the planning advisory committee, said the committee wasn’t comfortable giving a recommendation on the potential bylaw change without “some thorough public engagement”.

“PAC was uncomfortable moving a recommendation forward without public engagement, knowing that either allowing this use by right or by development agreement, could open it up to some significant change,” she told councillors at their regular meeting last week.

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR on Monday that the committee wanted a “more robust public information opportunity” before a public hearing “to be able to provide more information to the public about what the shape of the amendment to the land use bylaw that’s being envisioned, what that looks like.”

“So as a way to get a full package of information to engaged members of the community and then providing them with an opportunity to have their say. It’s not required by the province. It’s best practices, I think,” Christian said.

“We know that this is an important conversation for us to be having and so we wanted to make sure that we have lots of opportunity for getting the information out there and giving folks an opportunity to provide their feedback.” 

Public information sessions are planned in the community room at Queens Place Emera Centre, on June 17 and June 19, both from 5 to 8 p.m. One will be geared more toward the business community and the other toward residents, Christian said.

“A formal notice and some promotional materials will be coming out early next week,” Christian said. “It’s going to be a drop-in, drop-out type of engagement and information session as opposed to a town hall with a microphone. … And the organization will be set up with information and with some ways for folks to give their input.”

He said this type of consultation is more effective at getting information to people and gathering feedback.

UPLAND Planning, the consultants that helped draft the region’s land use bylaw and municipal planning strategy adopted in 2022, will lead the public consultation.

Originally, residents and business owners were also going to be able to complete an online survey. But Christian said Monday that may not happen.

According to a report from Mike MacLeod, director of land use, members of the planning advisory committee “felt that opening up the (commercial downtown zone) to residential development as-of-right was not in the best interest of the community and that if council was to permit this use, controls would need to be established.”

MacLeod said the committee asked for draft amendments to be prepared for them to examine before they made a recommendation to council.

The consultants will prepare a report for council by the end of June. The region’s planning advisory committee would review the report, and then council would discuss the committee’s recommendations at its July meeting.

Christian said if there are proposed amendments to the land use bylaw, councillors would vote on those. If it passed first reading, then there would be a two-week notice period for a public hearing to be held before the final vote.

Fry gave councillors details of his proposed development at their April 22 meeting.

He wants to build 16 one- and two-bedroom units over two floors. Parking for the units would be indoors on the ground level, where there would also be storage units and four apartments. One-bedroom apartments would be about 800 square feet, while the two-bedroom units would be from 1,100 to 1,500 square feet. 

Rents would be similar to his apartment building on the Mersey River in Milton, he said, which are around $2,000 a month.

Fry bought the 30,000-square-foot building in January for $235,000.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Listen to the audio version of this story below