Three Rivers town council has rejected a proposed 24-unit apartment building in Montague, Prince Edward Island, siding with residents who said the three-storey project was too big for their street. The 4-2 vote at a recent council meeting turned down the mixed-use development planned for the corner of Gual Road and Murphy Lane, even though the town’s own planning board recommended it go ahead.
Developer Randy Mitchell, a Lower Montague resident and co-owner of Anchor Construction Group, wanted to build a building with 24 apartments and 3,000 square feet of office space. But neighbours told councillors they worried about more traffic on a road they say is already in rough shape and about how a building of that size would change the look and feel of the area. “Lots are definitely not in favour of it,” said Coun. Wayne Spin, who spoke with people living on Gual Road before the meeting. “Whether it’s the street is in such bad shape, it’s too big, it’s everything.”
Coun. Anne Van Donkersgoed, who chairs the planning board, pushed back hard. She said the project followed all the town’s existing rules and would help fill a desperate need for smaller, more affordable rentals like studio and one-bedroom apartments. “There is a desperate need for affordable housing, especially studio apartments and one-bedroom apartments, and this will meet some of those,” Van Donkersgoed told council. Her argument did not carry the day. Coun. Cindy MacLean said traffic worries had not been addressed and called for a proper traffic study before any approval.
The decision lands at a tense time for housing in the community. Prince Edward Island has one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in Canada, though the most recent CMHC data shows it rose to 2.1 per cent in October 2025, and home prices have jumped more than 70 percent between early 2019 and early 2025. At the same time, the Town of Three Rivers has been waiting more than a year for the provincial government to sign off on updated development bylaws that would, among other things, make it easier to build more homes. The file has now passed through three different ministers without a decision. Former housing minister Cory Deagle earlier said he would not approve the changes because of community pushback, pointing to concerns over zoning tied to Buddhist land holdings and saying “the optics don’t look the best.”
Mayor Debbie Johnston called the apartment vote a tough one, saying council constantly has to weigh the need for housing against residents’ worries about green space, traffic and how new buildings fit into older neighbourhoods. The rejection is not the first time Three Rivers council has said no to housing proposals. Earlier in 2026, it also turned down an application for two renovated mobile homes, despite arguments they would offer affordable rent at about $1,000 a month. The ongoing bylaw standoff with the province has already cost the town one councillor. John Van Dyke resigned in December 2025, saying the town’s work had been “met with hesitation, political avoidance, and a troubling disregard for the municipal planning process.”
