Saint John’s mayor is defending council’s decision related to the controversial Wolastoq Park rezoning.
J.D. Irving, Limited sought permission to build a 500-space gravel parking lot in a portion of the park.
Company officials said the lot was needed to support a $1.1-billion expansion of its pulp and paper mill across the street, dubbed NextGen.
After two public hearings, council voted last week to support a temporary rezoning for five years rather than a permanent one JDI had been seeking.
The following day, the company announced it was withdrawing its application, saying council and staff placed “unreasonable conditions on our ask to rezone our land, effectively denying our application.”
“We repeatedly and clearly communicated a temporary approval is not at all viable,” the company said in its statement.
“In the long-term, we still require parking and will reapply for a rezoning at some point in the future. In the meantime, we are forced to proceed with a less efficient, temporary option both for the workers and the company.”
‘The decision was a compromise’: mayor
In a two-and-a-half-page open letter to the community, Mayor Donna Noade Reardon described council’s decision as a compromise.
“It supports JDI’s temporary parking needs while protecting long-term green space,” Reardon wrote in the letter, released Wednesday.
“Council did not vote ‘no’ to the project but rather supported its implementation with conditions that reflect a balance between development and community priorities.”
Should the company have needed the space longer, Reardon said, a new application process would have allowed council and the community to evaluate future needs “openly and responsibly.”
Resident concerns
Several residents raised concerns about the Wolastoq Park proposal, ranging from a loss of park space and increased traffic through an already busy Simms Corner to a lack of community benefit from J.D. Irving.
The company initially proposed $3.9 million in upgrades for the park, including a new pedestrian bridge across Bridge Road and a one-kilometre trail around the park.
After the first public hearing in February, it also proposed $250,000 for upgrades at Dominion Park and $250,000 to help extend Harbour Passage.
City staff gave council four options to consider and recommended that they deny the application, saying it goes against the city’s municipal plan.
Other options included a temporary parking lot for up to five years — the one supported by council — and a permanent paved lot with landscaping.
Both of those also include a condition that J.D. Irving may have to help pay for future Simms Corner upgrades — something the company said it would not agree to.
City still open for business
James Irving, the co-CEO of J.D. Irving, said he and his team would work with the city to help secure government funding to “try and solve this problem of Simms Corner.”
Reardon said while an offer to advocate for provincial and federal funding is “a welcomed gesture,” it was not a confirmed investment.
“We have to strike the right balance between supporting big business and protecting the interests of our residents and taxpayers. Saint John can do both,” she said.
“We can embrace major investments while also standing up for due process, good planning, and what is fair to our citizens. ”
The mayor added that Saint John’s future has never been brighter, and the city is open for business.
