Cambridge council halts controversial warehouse project in Blair

Cambridge councillors have voted against two motions that would have given the OK for the construction of a warehouse in the area of Blair.

Council needed to sign off on a heritage impact assessment and a transportation impact study before construction could begin at the Old Mill Road site. But during Monday night's special council meeting, council voted five to four against approving the reports. 

"Council has a responsibility to represent the whole community. This isn't a Blair issue, this is a City of Cambridge issue," Coun. Mike Devine said during last night's meeting.

"I can't support the motions ... I'm very concerned about the size of the facilities as it relates to the amount of jobs will have per square foot and it's going to be very tiny and I believe that property could be put to better use."

Coun. Shannon Adshade also voted against the motions, saying council needs to listen to the concerns and wants of the community. 

"We had 50 delegates that spoke against this and not one single delegate came forward in support, so we do really need to listen to what the community wants and I feel very strongly they don't want this in our community and so I can't support this motion," he said. 

The decision was applauded by the community group Blair Engaged, which has argued against the project.

On Twitter, the group thanked councillors who "asked many questions and voted against" the reports.

"Thank you for standing up for the democratic process. We are happy to talk and be engaged at any time."

Councillors Scott Hamilton, Donna Reid, Pam Wolf and Mayor Kathryn McGarry all voted in favour of the motions and said the project would bring economic growth to the community.

"I can't shake the fact that this is a large parcel of land that is zoned as industrial and it's beside the busiest highway in Canada," Hamilton said.

"I look at the number of jobs that could be produced and I look at the benefit to the city in terms of tourism, prestige and things like that." 

Wolf said traffic calming measures, capping the number of trucks traveling to the site and a single construction operation were different ways the developers tried to minimize an impact on the community.

"I know many residents want us to not vote for this tonight, but I truly believe that it's the best decision for our city and the community," Wolf said.