Spruce Lake vote delayed again after opponents wrap up concerns about expansion plan
CBC
A vote on the proposed expansion of the Spruce Lake Industrial Park was delayed again Tuesday night after Saint John council heard the last of 75 people who lined up to speak against the project.
The only people left to appear at a public hearing are those who support the expansion, which the city is spearheading to drive economic growth.
The hearing on the rezoning needed to get the expansion underway began May 12 and, with so many people wanting to speak against the plan, has spread over three nights so far. It will continue June 16 at council's regular meeting.
The proposed expansion is aimed at attracting medium or light industry that's clean and non-emitting to the industrial park in the rural Lorneville area of southwest Saint John.
After the latest round of speakers, Mayor Donna Reardon said that in her 13 years either as a city councillor or the mayor, she has never seen anything like the response the Spruce Lake proposal has received.
"Lorneville residents, there's seven to eight generations," she told reporters."They've lived there for a long time.
"They have a community down there and they know each other. They work together. So it's not a surprise that they would come out within this force. I'm not surprised at all to have them here. And I think their voices need to be heard."
Normally, public hearings happen within one council meeting," Reardon said.
"We would hear both sides, we would have an opportunity to ask questions, and then we would make that decision based on our comments, so that's fair ball," she said.
"If you're hearing only half of the story — you really need to have the other to get the balance and to make a proper decision. And we need some time to do that."
She said she's not surprised Lorneville residents have come out in force to comment on the industrial park plan.
"I'm not surprised at all to have them here. And I think their voices need to be heard."
The chamber and lobby were filled as they were the previous two nights with 80 to 90 people, most of them opponents concerned about how the expansion will affect the environment and the quality of life in the rural community.
The decision to continue the hearing later in June, when supporters are to speak, was met with anger from people who'd expected a decision by the end of the night.
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