Council Slaps Time Limit On Proposed Saint John Development
SAINT JOHN–Saint John council narrowly approved a rezoning this week for a controversial 82-unit development proposed on the city’s east side.
In a 6-4 vote, council agreed to rezone 1429 Loch Lomond Road from two-unit residential to low-rise and mid-rise residential. Gerry Lowe, Barry Ogden, Paula Radwan, and Greg Stewart were the dissenting votes.
Council also voted 9-1 to add a six-year time limit to construct the seven buildings at the site, despite staff recommending against it
“If you’re not going to put any time limits on it, these people are going to be [dealing with] trucks, digging, noise that can go on for x number of years,” said Coun. Gerry Lowe, who moved the motion to add a time limit.
Coun. David Hickey, who seconded the motion, said he thinks the timeframe will offer some comfort to residents who are worried about noise and dust during construction.
But not everyone thinks a construction time limit is a good idea. Coun. Brent Harris, the lone councillor to vote against the motion, said he has concerns.
“Every contractor I know is booking a year out, so if these guys don’t have permits yet and these guys don’t have contractors lined up and booked, I guarantee you’re going to be a year and a half to two years out before you can even get a full comprehensive schedule in place for your contractors and subcontractors,” said Harris.
Harris’ concerns were similar to those put forward by city staff, who did not recommend a time limit for this particular development.
Mark Reade, senior city planner, said adding a time limit would pose additional risk to the developer.
“It’s a challenging time for development now. There’s shortages of materials, there’s shortages of trades, pricing is affected because of this availability,” said Reade.
Instead, to help address concerns about noise, staff put forward a condition—which was approved—that the developer construct a treed berm before starting the first building.
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Residents have also raised concerns about the potential traffic impacts. An estimated 356 vehicles per day will be added to Loch Lomond Road as a result of the development.
“This proposed development will, in my opinion, increase noise levels dramatically, increase traffic congestion, increase frustration, anxiety, stress. It will make a potential hazardous entrance open onto an extremely busy roadway,” said Stewart.
Tim O’Reilly, director of parks and transportation, said traffic from the development will not have a major impact on traffic flow along Loch Lomond Road.
As part of the approval, the developer has agreed to contribute $1,000 toward crosswalk upgrades at Loch Lomond Road and Bon Accord Drive.
Brad Perry is the news director with CHSJ/Country 94, Huddle content partners.