This basic planning statement has been prepared in response to a request from the residents of the St. Martins Planning Area for planning protection. At a meeting of residents of the St. Martins Planning Area in February, 1991, the Minister of Municipalities, Culture and Housing was asked to provide planning protection through a basic planning statement. At this same meeting, an Advisory Committee of local residents was elected to work with government officials and the public in the preparation of the basic planning statement. The contents of this Schedule represent the work of the Advisory Committee, government officials and local residents, as well as substantial public input that was generated through several open house meetings and the Saint Martins Parish Awareness Day in August, 1992.

The St. Martins Planning Area is bounded on the south by the Bay of Fundy, on the west by Simonds Parish, on the east by Fundy National Park and on the north by Upham Parish and Hammond Parish. The St. Martins Planning Area has mixed terrain with many lakes, rivers and streams, as well as environmentally significant areas. Its proximity to The City of Saint John has exposed the St. Martins Planning Area to increasing development pressure in recent years. This pressure may be magnified if the proposed Fundy Trail Corridor is developed.

A field survey of existing development was carried out in May, 1991, to determine land use patterns within the St. Martins Planning Area. This survey confirmed that the principal uses of land are of a residential, agricultural or resource extraction nature. These land use activities have helped to formulate proposed uses within the St. Martins Planning Area.

Population data has been compiled as part of the planning process using statistics published in Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1991 Census of Canada, prepared by Statistics Canada in 1992. In 1991, the population of the St. Martins Planning Area was 1,199. In 1986, the population was 1,135. A comparison of these two population figures shows an increase in population of 5.6 per cent. The population of neighbouring Simonds Parish increased 10.4 per cent during that five year period. By contrast, during the same five year period the population of Saint John County which includes both the St. Martins Planning Area and Simonds Parish decreased by 1.2 per cent. A conclusion that can be drawn from these figures is that people are leaving larger centres to buy and develop residential properties in smaller centres and unincorporated areas. This trend is expected to continue in the St. Martins Planning Area as land becomes unavailable in Simonds Parish.

The Department of the Environment and Local Government has identified several areas within the St. Martins Planning Area as environmentally significant areas. Environmentally significant areas are watercourses or areas within close proximity of a watercourse and are designated as environmentally significant areas on the map attached as Schedule A.

Environmentally significant areas are of special interest due to their uniqueness or sensitivity to disturbance. These areas provide habitat for many of the rare flora and fauna found within the region. These areas may also contain distinctive natural features that have biological, ecological, geological or aesthetic value.

Certain activities carried out within thirty metres of a watercourse require a watercourse alteration permit under the Watercourse Alteration Regulation - Clean Water Act. In addition, new development proposals may be required to be registered as undertakings under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation - Clean Environment Act.

The objectives for the future development of the St. Martins Planning Area are:

The objectives to be accomplished by a zoning regulation, if one were to be adopted in the future, are

The following proposals are made in order to identify and maintain existing development and to permit future development while ensuring that the objectives of this Schedule are met and that the residents of the St. Martins Planning Area are able to participate in the approval process. For the purposes of attaining the objectives set out above, the land in the St. Martins Planning Area is designated for eight specific uses, namely residential, seasonal residential, institutional, commercial, recreational, rural, sand and gravel pits and quarry and waste disposal. Proposals relating to these uses are as follows:

It is proposed that the following residential uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for residential use on the map attached as Schedule A:

It is proposed that high density residential housing, including town houses and apartments, shall

It is proposed that, after the commencement of this Schedule, the minimum lot size on which a new residential use is situated shall be 0.4 hectares (1.0 acre).

It is proposed that the seasonal residential uses, being camps, cottages and other single family dwellings that are not winterized and are only inhabited during part of the year, and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for seasonal residential use on the map attached as Schedule A.

It is proposed that the following institutional uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for institutional use on the map attached as Schedule A:

It is proposed that the following commercial uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for commercial use on the map attached as Schedule A:

It is proposed that, after the commencement of this Schedule

It is proposed that, after the commencement of this Schedule, a new commercial use, other than a gas or service station, that involves the storage, use or sale of toxic substances as defined under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Canada) shall require an amendment to this Schedule.

It is proposed that a new commercial use that exceeds 140.0 square metres (1500.0 square feet) shall require an amendment to this Schedule.

It is proposed that the following recreational uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for recreational use on the map attached as Schedule A:

It is proposed that the following uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for rural use on the map attached as Schedule A:

It is proposed that development occurring within 100.0 metres of coastal areas shall be undertaken in such a way that the character of these areas in terms of their environmental, ecological, geological, historical and architectural structure is not altered or lost.

It is proposed that sand and gravel pits and quarry uses and no other uses shall be permitted uses in an area designated for sand and gravel pits and quarry use on the map attached as Schedule A.

It is proposed that, after the commencement of this Schedule, no new sand and gravel pit and quarry use shall be permitted if the excavation operation activities would

It is proposed that, after the commencement of this Schedule, adequate buffering be provided between new sand and gravel pits and quarries and adjoining properties.

It is proposed that no use other than a waste disposal use shall be a permitted use in an area designated for waste disposal use on the map attached as Schedule A.

It is proposed that the existing waste disposal sites on the Patterson Siding Road and Grove Hill shall be permitted to continue operation until such time as a regional sanitary landfill site is opened.

It is proposed that no contaminated, radioactive or hazardous wastes shall be placed in a waste disposal site or a sanitary landfill site.

It is proposed that industrial uses, including manufacturing or processing plants, warehouse or wholesale establishments, aboveground oil storage tanks, generating stations and scrap yards shall not be permitted uses unless this Schedule is amended appropriately to permit them.

It is proposed that the minimum lot size on which an industrial use is situated shall be 0.4 hectares (1.0 acre).

It is proposed that no industrial use shall be permitted unless adequate measures are in place to prevent or mitigate pollution, including noise, that could threaten the ecology of environmentally significant areas, the quality and quantity of surface and ground water resources and the quality of the air.

It is proposed that provision be made for adequate off-street parking and adequate buffering from adjoining land uses.

It is proposed that mining shall be a permitted use in the St. Martins Planning Area if the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, following the completion of a required environmental impact assessment under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation - Clean Environment Act, has given an approval for the carrying on of the mining operation and that in any other case, mining shall not be a permitted use unless this Schedule is amended appropriately to permit it.

It is proposed that, where a home occupation is permitted under this Schedule, one of the following occupations may be conducted as a home occupation in a dwelling permitted under this Schedule:

It is proposed that a home occupation shall be subject to the requirement that

It is proposed that non-conforming uses may continue and that sections 40 and 41 of the Community Planning Act shall apply with the necessary modifications to a non-conforming use.