Property values up along Petitcodiac

Plans to get rid of the causeway on the Petitcodiac River haven't hurt property values, according to the company handling the restoration for the province.

In fact, statistics gathered so far show that property values are actually increasing, said Jacques Paynter, a senior planner with AMEC Earth and Environmental Limited.

People with properties along the river, who opposed last week's opening of the gates of the causeway between Moncton and Riverview, argued the value of their homes would drop by tens of thousands of dollars.

'There's no difference to what is happening to property values in the control zone as compared to property values in the study zone. And they're also generally increasing in both areas.' —Jacques Paynter, AMEC

They want to maintain lakefront, with the gates closed.

An environmental impact assessment in 2005 suggested there would be no impact on property values if the river was restored.

So in 2008, AMEC hired an independent appraiser to test the hypothesis, said Paynter.

"Every three months we analyze the…transactions that have occurred, so we'll have a rolling picture of what is happening."

Values up three to four per cent per year

The appraiser has studied homes above and below the causeway—the so-called study zone— as well as four other neighbourhoods in Greater Moncton that are far away from the causeway as a control zone, he said.

"Basically the conclusion is there's no difference to what is happening to property values in the control zone as compared to property values in the study zone.

"And they're also generally increasing in both areas."

The property values in all areas have gone up by three to four per cent each year, Paynter said.

Property values will continue to be monitored for at least five to six years, he said.

No one from the Lake Petitcodiac Preservation Association (LAPPA), the group that represents citizens living near the former lake that was created when the causeway was built 42 years ago, was available to comment.

Judge rejects injunction application

The group had applied to the Court of Queen's Bench last week for an injunction to close the gates and save its lake.

The group's lawyer had argued Tuesday that the government acted illegally in opening up the gates because it didn't fulfill all of the conditions it promised to follow to protect residents from pollution and flooding.

But Justice Paul Creaghan ruled Thursday that the province provided adequate safeguards.

The province has also provided assurances that it will closely monitor the situation and any potential losses can be compensated, he said.

There is no evidence of irreparable harm to the residents, but forcing the gates to close would cause too much harm to the provincial plan to restore the river, Creaghan said.

The province plans to replace the causeway gates with a four-lane bridge from Riverview to Moncton.

The total cost of the project has been pegged at $68 million.

In 2003, the river was ranked second on a list of the most endangered rivers in Canada prepared by B.C. environmentalists. In 2008, the New Brunswick government committed $20 million to the first stage of a restoration project for the 3,000 square-kilometre watershed.