North End Neighbourhood Plan

Public Hearing on the North End Plan - May 4 at 6 PM

📣 Public Hearing Notice | North End Plan Adoption

City Council will be meeting to formally review and vote on the North End Neighbourhood Plan — and we want to see you there!

Click this link to view the draft plan and this link for the draft schedules.

This is your opportunity to witness a key moment in shaping the future of our North End community. All are welcome to attend.

Thank You to the Neighbourhood Advisory Committee!

A sincere thank you to the members of the North End advisory committee. Their expertise and commitment were essential in shaping the final version of the plan.

The City has hired Fotenn Consulting to help with the creation of the North End Secondary Plan policy as well as the community engagement strategy.

Fotenn is an integrated team of planners, urban designers and landscape architects with over thirty years of experience leading innovative and award-winning projects and providing successful planning and design services for a range of clients throughout Canada.

We are excited to work with such experienced urban planners!

North End Neighbourhood Plan overview

A Neighbourhood Plan (also known as a Secondary Plan) is a document created to shape growth and development in a certain part of the City. The plan is created with the help of community members, to make sure that it represents the character of the community and highlights the interests of the public through creating thoughtful policy and action items. In 2019, Saint John adopted the Central Peninsula Secondary Plan as the first neighbourhood plan. We are now creating our second neighbourhood plan that will focus on the North End of the City.

The first step in a Neighbourhood Plan is defining a boundary of the area that will included in the Plan. A variety of factors must be considered when creating a boundary including:

• The amount of land to be included
• Natural and man-made boundaries such as rivers and highways
• Census Tracks
• Existing neighbourhoods (such as the Old North End and Crescent Valley)
• Important community spaces such as schools and parks

A plan must be the right size so that the Plan can be thoughtful and reflect the neighbourhoods that it includes.

During initial planning stages, City staff engaged with two major North End community groups to draft a boundary map that incorporates several established neighbourhoods and important commercial areas but does not include Milledgeville or Rockwood Park.

The North End Neighbourhood Plan aims to create a proposal for the revitalization of the entire plan area, but will also focus on the specific needs for the unique neighbourhoods within the boundary area. While the official boundaries of these neighbourhoods have not yet been defined, the public will be engaged during this process to ensure these boundaries and policy are suited to their communities. Similar to the Central Peninsula Plan, neighbourhoods are created to deal with unique elements of each community and will look to grow and enhance these neighbourhoods while protecting the things that make them unique and special.

The City is asking for feedback from the public regarding the drafted Boundary Map. We eagerly welcome any comments and feedback regarding thoughts on the proposed boundary of the whole area. The intent is to finalize the boundary map before moving forward with the next steps of the plan, including engaging the public to identify the neighbourhood boundaries for the Plan.

North End Neighbourhood Plan Timeline

Community Engagement

The creation of the North End Neighbourhood Plan relies on feedback from community members, particularly those who live, work and play within the Plan boundary. Community Engagement will take place throughout the planning process. This will be done through a variety of events and online engagement tools, aiming to reach as many people as possible. This will include in person events, online engagement tools, and by sharing information on the Shape Your City Page for this project. A North End Neighbourhood Plan Advisory Committee that includes community members will also be created.

We conducted the first of several engagement and visioning sessions in January 2025 at various locations within the North End. The community input provided will shape the draft concepts for the Plan. If you weren't able to attend one of these events, we are still collecting comments and you are encouraged to submit your thoughts in the forum below.

The City of Saint John has initiated a Secondary Plan for the North End in the City of Saint John. The North End Plan is a land use planning document which will be adopted by the City of Saint John under the authority of the Community Planning Act. With the input from a range of stakeholders and residents, the Plan will articulate a vision and strategy for the North End, intended to foster the creation of a vibrant, healthy and safe community.

Consistent with best practices, the Background Report represents a critical initial step in the planning process by providing a comprehensive survey of relevant information that may inform the ultimate Plan. The Background Report is intended to summarize findings from the information-gathering phase of the project, including information gained through community visits, analysis of opportunities and constraints, and review of the legislative, policy and regulatory frameworks. The report also documents the engagement events with stakeholders and members of the public, including feedback provided.

The Background Report is a living document that will be updated throughout the process with subsequent drafts issued at key project milestones. It will be finalized upon Council adoption, signaling the conclusion of the project.