A change in regulations to P.E.I.’s Planning Act allows residential developers to build to a higher density in rural subdivisions.
The move, in effect since Aug. 1, lifts the requirement that developers dedicate 10 per cent of a development with more than five lots to green space in unincorporated communities. Now they only require that green space on subdivisions with more than 20 lots.
“It allows builders to utilize that 10 per cent green space for construction which gives them more value and reduces their cost of construction,” says Sam Sanderson, general manager of the Construction Association of Prince Edward Island (CAPEI).
On a 20-lot subdivision, for example, a developer has two extra lots to build out.
The regulatory change applies to single family subdivisions or multi-unit buildings on one property.
Sanderson says the planning change could sway developers who originally planned fewer housing lots on a property to top the number up to 20.
He believes it will have a significant impact on construction in the province because development in rural municipalities represents two to 25 per cent of the island’s housing construction.
Randy Mitchell of Anchored Construction says the new regulations will provide an opportunity for developers to expand into rural areas.
“It isn’t going to solve the housing crisis here by any means but it is not going to hurt anything to entice a developer to build in a rural setting.”
Anchored Construction serves eastern P.E.I. both as a developer and a builder in residential and commercial sectors. It has a carpentry crew of 18.
Mitchell says by reducing the cost of construction for builders the regulatory change should see lower house prices.
Homeowners, he adds, could also benefit by not having the added costs of maintaining a green space, which “typically would be an open field” under the old rules.
Sanderson says the planning change could offer aging residents an option to downsize without leaving their rural communities behind.
It also frees up their larger, older homes for new families from out of the province.
“Having the availability to live in a rural location is tremendously appealing to many people.”
Sanderson says there is a shortage of about 1,000 skilled workers in the province in trades ranging from electricians and masons to carpenters and plumbers.
That labour deficit is exacerbated by private recruiters offering lofty wage and benefit packages to entice local tradespeople to go west to Alberta and other provinces for high-paying jobs.
“We can’t compete with them on wages.”
The construction association’s general manager says while increased immigration can help to address skilled labour shortages in P.E.I., less than one per cent of immigrants have any construction experience.
“We need skilled people that can come here and go right to work in a trade…to build more housing and infrastructure.”
To address the problem, CAPEI is leading the Atlantic Canada Immigration Project (ACIP) aimed at evaluating the immediate, short- and long-term needs of the building industry in the four Atlantic provinces.
ACIP will provide a report to various levels of government on the needs of skilled trades in both horizontal (infrastructure such as sewer, water and roads) and vertical (buildings) sectors in the four eastern provinces. The 20-month project will be completed in about eight months.
Sanderson says all of the provinces face similar skilled shortage challenges.
“There’s a level of competition (in all provinces) and we’re also competing against all other sectors for that skilled individual who can show up for work every day.”
Shortages are worsened by the nature of construction work, which unlike many professions, can be seasonal or last only as long as it takes to complete a project.
“When we look at health care and many other sectors, they are year-round jobs. They are not based on procurement…the tendering process where a contractor hiring someone and guaranteeing them two years of work is pretty near impossible because they don’t know if they’ll get the next job,” says Sanderson.
Recent Comments