East End Secondary Planning Process

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June 2023 Update

In this section you will find updates as work on the East End Secondary Plan progresses.

June 20th, 2023

  • Council decision

June 12th, 2023

  • Public Hearing for the East End Secondary Planning Strategy at Town Hall. View the agenda and the Final Secondary Planning Strategy coming soon.

May 25th.

  • Committee of the Whole - meeting to give first reading to the East End Secondary Planning Strategy

May 11th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda on the right.

May 2nd, 2023

  • Open House at Wolfville Farmers' Market from 12-2pm or 6-8pm. View Secondary Planning Strategy (DRAFT) on the right.

April 13th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda on the right

March 9th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda and presentation slides on the right.

January 10th 2023:

  • An update on work to date was provided to Council at Committee of the Whole.

January 5th, 2023:

  • Staff provided a presentation to Planning Advisory and sought further feedback on density and housing mix, building height and view plane and the village square.

December 8th, 2022:

  • Updates were provided to the Planning Advisory Committee.

November 10th, 2022:

  • Joint Planning Advisory and Council meeting was held with presentations by the Town's Director of Planning as well as the consultant at Fathom Studios.
  • Staff and consultants provided a progress update on the Secondary Planning Strategy to the Committee and Council.

June 9th, 2022

  • What We Heard report from engagement to date (Blooms page and open house events) was presented to Planning Advisory Committee.

May 31st, June 1st and June 2nd, 2022:

  • Three open house events and 1 virtual open house event were held to obtain further input from community members.

April 14th, 2022:

  • The East End Workbook was presented to Planning Advisory Committee and this page was created to use as an engagement tool.

February 10th, 2022:

  • Staff provided an overview of the former East End Wolfville Blooms page for Planning Advisory Committee and engagement on the East End Secondary Plan began. Engagement on that page occurred from December to May 2022.

The surveys and polls for the first round of engagement have now closed. A new round of engagement will be available in the new year. Thank you to all of those who have provided feedback up until this point!


________________________________________________________________________________

The Town of Wolfville is beginning a Secondary Planning Process for two large parcels of land in the East End of Wolfville. This webpage has been created to provide you with information on the process to date, as well as to gain feedback from community members. As you read along, you will be asked to respond to questions to help the Town know what ideas, visions and desires community members have for these parcels of land.

We have held 4 open house events over the week of May 31st to June 2nd. Thank you to everyone who attended these sessions and provided their valuable input. If you were unable to attend or would like a recap of the virtual session, please view the recording here:




What We've Heard so Far:

The Town has been encouraging community feedback on this process since December, 2022.

A report summarizing what we heard through Wolfville Blooms, four Open House events, Planning Advisory Committee and direct discussion with community members can be viewed here.

We continue to collect feedback through this page and will continue with public engagement in the fall.


Things to Know Before Continuing:

The full-length Community Workbook can be viewed by clicking the "East End Workbook. PDF" linked to the right.

A recording of the presentation of the workbook by the consultant can be viewed here:


This workbook provides more detailed information across 5 sections and will prompt you to respond to questions on this page.

In the Workbook you will find information on:

  • What a Secondary Planning Process is,
  • The estimated timeline for this project,
  • An analysis of the land, including information on views from Reservoir Park, slope, sun and wind exposure and more,
  • Guiding Principles and Sustainability considerations such as density, parks, trails, active transportation routes and more,
  • Housing options, and
  • Case studies of different types of neighbourhood designs such as "Agrihoods" and New Urbanist neighbourhoods.

We suggest reading through the Workbook as you go.



Density

The minimum density for these lands is 10 units per acre.

There are 42 acres on Kenny Lands, and 44 acres on the Maple Ridge Lands. With a combined land area of 86 acres, there is room for 860 units minimum, or roughly 2000 people. The image below shows what different densities look like (DU=dwelling unit).




Why set a minimum density requirement?

  • Reduces urban/suburban sprawl,
  • Maximizes housing opportunities and affordability,
  • Makes better use of transit and active transportation,
  • Preserves farmland and conservation lands by concentrating housing,
  • Creates opportunities for neighbourhood commercial and mixed uses,
  • Reduces reliance on automobiles because everything is closer,
  • Creates higher quality parks and open spaces,
  • Reduces long-term infrastructure costs for the municipality, and
  • Sets high quality standards for development in return for density.




Click to respond: What is the best way to achieve the density targets?


Developers benefit from greater density in return for ensuring key community benefits for development are met such as walkability, high quality architecture and urban design, open spaces, mixed-use community centres, sustainable design, mixed housing options, preserving important view corridors and catering to a wide range of the community rather than one group.

This approach is about creating a partnership between the land owners, developers, residents and the Town. Developers must meet specific community goals in return for development rights. These goals must be economically viable for the developer. Additional density over and above the 10 units per acre should create even greater public benefits.


Click here to answer the question: What public benefits should the Town consider requiring in return for achieving the density targets set for these lands?




Density Related Costs

Development costs must be passed along to future land owners. The cost of servicing low density development in 2022 can be upwards of $130,000 per lot excluding land cost. When the roads are transferred to the municipality, the long-term maintenance and replacement costs of these roads are substantial. More compact forms of development create substantially more affordable infrastructure costs and less long term costs for the municipality.

Compact developments are more affordable and are more environmentally friendly because they reduce the need for more roads and driving. The table below shows how much road cost per unit reduces when there are more units per acre.


Click to respond: Everyone has their preferences for housing. Which would you prefer?



Potential Public Benefits

The potential public benefits that residents could request of developers include:

  • Greater Housing variety (small single family, semi, townhomes, stacked towns, clusters and garden homes, apartment buildings, seniors housing),
  • Reduced vehicle reliance (sidewalks, AT, no garages, underground parking),
  • Higher public space standards (underground wiring, urban forest, signature parks, etc.),
  • Specific road design requirements (road diets, shared streets, etc.),
  • Lot design standards (street related housing, no or setback garages, underground parking, landscaping requirements, etc.),
  • Architectural design standards (materials, colours, articulation, styles, sustainability, etc.),
  • Village/Community centres with parks, commercial areas, community amenities, etc.,
  • Stormwater design standards, and
  • Preserving important view corridors.


Parks

What types of parks are needed on these lands?

There are many different types of parks to consider, such as natural play playgrounds, community gardens, naturalized planting, seating shelter, stormwater management, water features and more.


Click here to answer the question: With upwards of 1400 new units on these lands, what type of parks are needed for the eastern lands? What's missing in Wolfville?



Active Transportation and Trails

There are many types of active transportation paths and trails that could be incorporated into the design of these lands, such as multiuse trails, nature trails, all ages and abilities active transportation routes, continuous trail network and pedestrian sidewalks.

Click to respond: Are bike lanes, sidewalks, continuous trail networks important priorities for the East End?


Village Square


What would you like to see for a village square on these lands? Examples include a central town square, mixed uses, urban park, on-street parking, higher density living, ground-floor commercial, or a community centre.


Click to answer: What type of village square would you like to see? Have you seen examples from other places we could learn from?



Streetscapes and Design

What street amenities do you want to see on these lands? Ideas include: underground power lines, street related building frontages, high quality furnishings and streetscaping, road dieting (fewer lanes), sidewalks and active transportation lanes.


Click to answer the question: What street amenities will make this a desirable and unique community? Is underground power important or is the money better spent elsewhere?


What design considerations do you want to see on these lands? Ideas include: skinny streets, shared streets, traffic calming, context sensitive streets.


Click to answer the question: What kind of street designs can we use at the East End? How can we design these roads to favour people over cars?



Stormwater Management

Stormwater runoff can be managed in different ways, such as no-net runoff, through road standards, infiltration trenches and rain gardens, grassy swales and more. Share your ideas for stormwater management below.


Click to answer the question: How can we make this development a model for stormwater design? How can individual property owners contribute?



Urban Forests

Urban forests can increase local tree and plant species diversity, can help form public space standards for trees and private space standards for lots, set parks and open space standards and contribute to the preservation of large species.

Click to respond: Wolfville is known for its old growth trees. Should this development create standards to ensure a diverse urban forest in the future?



Institutional UsesIf there were a market for it, what type of institutional land might we reserve:

  • Nursing Homes
  • Schools
  • Church
  • Healthcare Centre
  • Community Centre
  • Other?

Click to answer the question: Should we reserve some land for future institutional uses? If so, what should we accommodate?



Social Equity

Aspects such as affordable housing, housing for aging in place, accessible housing and amenities all play into social equity.


Click to answer the question: What social equity issues would you prioritize for addressing with this development?




Housing Choices

There are many options to consider for the future housing development on these lands. These considerations include how the housing relates to the street, lot width and depth, allowing or disallowing garages, veranda requirements, limits on the number of storeys, limiting the number of cars per dwelling unit, colour schemes, and the architectural style of the houses.

Click to respond: Would you prefer housing with 2 or 3 storeys?


Click to answer the question: What design standards would you prioritize for R1 (low density) housing? Remove garages? A front porch? Colour scheme? Architectural style?



Click to answer the question: Should R2 (medium density) housing such as duplexes be integrated with other housing types or separated in distinct areas? What design styles do you favour?



Cluster housing

Cluster housing provides a close-knit housing option where residents live in close proximity to neighbours, and often includes features such as shared gardens and common spaces, smaller homes and parking around the outer perimeter.


Click to answer the question: Would you or a friend like to live in a close-knit cluster neighbourhood? How far would you walk to your parking space?



Parking

Click to respond: Would you prefer parking in the front or rear of homes?


Medium Density Housing

What considerations should be made for medium density housing? Considerations can include the maximum or minimum storeys, prohibiting on-street parking, and ensuring building design is to the human scale. Take a look at the example medium density buildings above and then respond to the question below:



Click to answer the question: What elements of these examples you like or dislike and what mix of 1-2-3-bedroom units should we be planning for?



High Density Housing


Taller buildings create opportunities for more open space, and more density provides greater public benefits. How high should we consider? Taller buildings could include amenities such as underground parking, walkout units and architectural interest such as stepbacks and articulation.


Click to respond: How many storeys should we consider for high density housing?

The Workbook contains more information on case study communities including "agrihoods" and new urbanism. Please review the communities and provide any thoughts by clicking here.


Thank you for your participation!

June 2023 Update

In this section you will find updates as work on the East End Secondary Plan progresses.

June 20th, 2023

  • Council decision

June 12th, 2023

  • Public Hearing for the East End Secondary Planning Strategy at Town Hall. View the agenda and the Final Secondary Planning Strategy coming soon.

May 25th.

  • Committee of the Whole - meeting to give first reading to the East End Secondary Planning Strategy

May 11th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda on the right.

May 2nd, 2023

  • Open House at Wolfville Farmers' Market from 12-2pm or 6-8pm. View Secondary Planning Strategy (DRAFT) on the right.

April 13th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda on the right

March 9th, 2023

  • Planning Advisory Committee - view agenda and presentation slides on the right.

January 10th 2023:

  • An update on work to date was provided to Council at Committee of the Whole.

January 5th, 2023:

  • Staff provided a presentation to Planning Advisory and sought further feedback on density and housing mix, building height and view plane and the village square.

December 8th, 2022:

  • Updates were provided to the Planning Advisory Committee.

November 10th, 2022:

  • Joint Planning Advisory and Council meeting was held with presentations by the Town's Director of Planning as well as the consultant at Fathom Studios.
  • Staff and consultants provided a progress update on the Secondary Planning Strategy to the Committee and Council.

June 9th, 2022

  • What We Heard report from engagement to date (Blooms page and open house events) was presented to Planning Advisory Committee.

May 31st, June 1st and June 2nd, 2022:

  • Three open house events and 1 virtual open house event were held to obtain further input from community members.

April 14th, 2022:

  • The East End Workbook was presented to Planning Advisory Committee and this page was created to use as an engagement tool.

February 10th, 2022:

  • Staff provided an overview of the former East End Wolfville Blooms page for Planning Advisory Committee and engagement on the East End Secondary Plan began. Engagement on that page occurred from December to May 2022.

The surveys and polls for the first round of engagement have now closed. A new round of engagement will be available in the new year. Thank you to all of those who have provided feedback up until this point!


________________________________________________________________________________

The Town of Wolfville is beginning a Secondary Planning Process for two large parcels of land in the East End of Wolfville. This webpage has been created to provide you with information on the process to date, as well as to gain feedback from community members. As you read along, you will be asked to respond to questions to help the Town know what ideas, visions and desires community members have for these parcels of land.

We have held 4 open house events over the week of May 31st to June 2nd. Thank you to everyone who attended these sessions and provided their valuable input. If you were unable to attend or would like a recap of the virtual session, please view the recording here:




What We've Heard so Far:

The Town has been encouraging community feedback on this process since December, 2022.

A report summarizing what we heard through Wolfville Blooms, four Open House events, Planning Advisory Committee and direct discussion with community members can be viewed here.

We continue to collect feedback through this page and will continue with public engagement in the fall.


Things to Know Before Continuing:

The full-length Community Workbook can be viewed by clicking the "East End Workbook. PDF" linked to the right.

A recording of the presentation of the workbook by the consultant can be viewed here:


This workbook provides more detailed information across 5 sections and will prompt you to respond to questions on this page.

In the Workbook you will find information on:

  • What a Secondary Planning Process is,
  • The estimated timeline for this project,
  • An analysis of the land, including information on views from Reservoir Park, slope, sun and wind exposure and more,
  • Guiding Principles and Sustainability considerations such as density, parks, trails, active transportation routes and more,
  • Housing options, and
  • Case studies of different types of neighbourhood designs such as "Agrihoods" and New Urbanist neighbourhoods.

We suggest reading through the Workbook as you go.



Density

The minimum density for these lands is 10 units per acre.

There are 42 acres on Kenny Lands, and 44 acres on the Maple Ridge Lands. With a combined land area of 86 acres, there is room for 860 units minimum, or roughly 2000 people. The image below shows what different densities look like (DU=dwelling unit).




Why set a minimum density requirement?

  • Reduces urban/suburban sprawl,
  • Maximizes housing opportunities and affordability,
  • Makes better use of transit and active transportation,
  • Preserves farmland and conservation lands by concentrating housing,
  • Creates opportunities for neighbourhood commercial and mixed uses,
  • Reduces reliance on automobiles because everything is closer,
  • Creates higher quality parks and open spaces,
  • Reduces long-term infrastructure costs for the municipality, and
  • Sets high quality standards for development in return for density.




Click to respond: What is the best way to achieve the density targets?


Developers benefit from greater density in return for ensuring key community benefits for development are met such as walkability, high quality architecture and urban design, open spaces, mixed-use community centres, sustainable design, mixed housing options, preserving important view corridors and catering to a wide range of the community rather than one group.

This approach is about creating a partnership between the land owners, developers, residents and the Town. Developers must meet specific community goals in return for development rights. These goals must be economically viable for the developer. Additional density over and above the 10 units per acre should create even greater public benefits.


Click here to answer the question: What public benefits should the Town consider requiring in return for achieving the density targets set for these lands?




Density Related Costs

Development costs must be passed along to future land owners. The cost of servicing low density development in 2022 can be upwards of $130,000 per lot excluding land cost. When the roads are transferred to the municipality, the long-term maintenance and replacement costs of these roads are substantial. More compact forms of development create substantially more affordable infrastructure costs and less long term costs for the municipality.

Compact developments are more affordable and are more environmentally friendly because they reduce the need for more roads and driving. The table below shows how much road cost per unit reduces when there are more units per acre.


Click to respond: Everyone has their preferences for housing. Which would you prefer?



Potential Public Benefits

The potential public benefits that residents could request of developers include:

  • Greater Housing variety (small single family, semi, townhomes, stacked towns, clusters and garden homes, apartment buildings, seniors housing),
  • Reduced vehicle reliance (sidewalks, AT, no garages, underground parking),
  • Higher public space standards (underground wiring, urban forest, signature parks, etc.),
  • Specific road design requirements (road diets, shared streets, etc.),
  • Lot design standards (street related housing, no or setback garages, underground parking, landscaping requirements, etc.),
  • Architectural design standards (materials, colours, articulation, styles, sustainability, etc.),
  • Village/Community centres with parks, commercial areas, community amenities, etc.,
  • Stormwater design standards, and
  • Preserving important view corridors.


Parks

What types of parks are needed on these lands?

There are many different types of parks to consider, such as natural play playgrounds, community gardens, naturalized planting, seating shelter, stormwater management, water features and more.


Click here to answer the question: With upwards of 1400 new units on these lands, what type of parks are needed for the eastern lands? What's missing in Wolfville?



Active Transportation and Trails

There are many types of active transportation paths and trails that could be incorporated into the design of these lands, such as multiuse trails, nature trails, all ages and abilities active transportation routes, continuous trail network and pedestrian sidewalks.

Click to respond: Are bike lanes, sidewalks, continuous trail networks important priorities for the East End?


Village Square


What would you like to see for a village square on these lands? Examples include a central town square, mixed uses, urban park, on-street parking, higher density living, ground-floor commercial, or a community centre.


Click to answer: What type of village square would you like to see? Have you seen examples from other places we could learn from?



Streetscapes and Design

What street amenities do you want to see on these lands? Ideas include: underground power lines, street related building frontages, high quality furnishings and streetscaping, road dieting (fewer lanes), sidewalks and active transportation lanes.


Click to answer the question: What street amenities will make this a desirable and unique community? Is underground power important or is the money better spent elsewhere?


What design considerations do you want to see on these lands? Ideas include: skinny streets, shared streets, traffic calming, context sensitive streets.


Click to answer the question: What kind of street designs can we use at the East End? How can we design these roads to favour people over cars?



Stormwater Management

Stormwater runoff can be managed in different ways, such as no-net runoff, through road standards, infiltration trenches and rain gardens, grassy swales and more. Share your ideas for stormwater management below.


Click to answer the question: How can we make this development a model for stormwater design? How can individual property owners contribute?



Urban Forests

Urban forests can increase local tree and plant species diversity, can help form public space standards for trees and private space standards for lots, set parks and open space standards and contribute to the preservation of large species.

Click to respond: Wolfville is known for its old growth trees. Should this development create standards to ensure a diverse urban forest in the future?



Institutional UsesIf there were a market for it, what type of institutional land might we reserve:

  • Nursing Homes
  • Schools
  • Church
  • Healthcare Centre
  • Community Centre
  • Other?

Click to answer the question: Should we reserve some land for future institutional uses? If so, what should we accommodate?



Social Equity

Aspects such as affordable housing, housing for aging in place, accessible housing and amenities all play into social equity.


Click to answer the question: What social equity issues would you prioritize for addressing with this development?




Housing Choices

There are many options to consider for the future housing development on these lands. These considerations include how the housing relates to the street, lot width and depth, allowing or disallowing garages, veranda requirements, limits on the number of storeys, limiting the number of cars per dwelling unit, colour schemes, and the architectural style of the houses.

Click to respond: Would you prefer housing with 2 or 3 storeys?


Click to answer the question: What design standards would you prioritize for R1 (low density) housing? Remove garages? A front porch? Colour scheme? Architectural style?



Click to answer the question: Should R2 (medium density) housing such as duplexes be integrated with other housing types or separated in distinct areas? What design styles do you favour?



Cluster housing

Cluster housing provides a close-knit housing option where residents live in close proximity to neighbours, and often includes features such as shared gardens and common spaces, smaller homes and parking around the outer perimeter.


Click to answer the question: Would you or a friend like to live in a close-knit cluster neighbourhood? How far would you walk to your parking space?



Parking

Click to respond: Would you prefer parking in the front or rear of homes?


Medium Density Housing

What considerations should be made for medium density housing? Considerations can include the maximum or minimum storeys, prohibiting on-street parking, and ensuring building design is to the human scale. Take a look at the example medium density buildings above and then respond to the question below:



Click to answer the question: What elements of these examples you like or dislike and what mix of 1-2-3-bedroom units should we be planning for?



High Density Housing


Taller buildings create opportunities for more open space, and more density provides greater public benefits. How high should we consider? Taller buildings could include amenities such as underground parking, walkout units and architectural interest such as stepbacks and articulation.


Click to respond: How many storeys should we consider for high density housing?

The Workbook contains more information on case study communities including "agrihoods" and new urbanism. Please review the communities and provide any thoughts by clicking here.


Thank you for your participation!

Page last updated: 07 Jun 2023, 10:49 AM