Saint John is slowing down plans to expand the Spruce Lake Industrial Park in order to get more feedback from residents.
Councillors voted Tuesday night not to proceed with a public hearing that had been scheduled for Nov. 12.
Instead, they directed the CAO to create a task force made up of city staff and Lorneville residents to facilitate further discussions on the application.
The task force will work jointly and staff will provide findings and recommendations that will inform a report back to council.
The decision comes a week after a planning advisory committee meeting where several residents spoke out against the project.
At the end of the night, PAC members voted to make no recommendation to council and encourage more consultation between the city, developers and residents.
“It was a long but very informative discussion and it was a very respectful discussion with the Lorneville community,” said Coun. Gary Sullivan.
“I think there’s definitely a path forward and a conversation that can be hard, so looking forward to seeing the results.”
RELATED: Saint John industrial park plan goes before planning committee
The application involves a 112-hectare “pad-ready” site for phase one, plus additional lands for a total development area of around 586 hectares for future industrial development.
City staff maintain there is a shortage of development-ready land for businesses in the city’s industrial parks.
During the PAC meeting, Leah Alexander said many in the community are worried about potential impacts to their well water.
“The City of Saint John and Dillon Consulting have tried to placate our fears by stating [they] don’t know what development is going there and they will have to meet standards,” said Alexander.
“This just shows that the function and importance of this wetland is not understood by the consulting company.”
Others said the entire decision-making process has been rushed and called on officials to take a step back.
Dozens of people wrote letters to the city outlining their concerns with the proposed expansion. A petition was also submitted with hundreds of signatures.
City staff recommended a groundwater monitoring program within the proposed industrial park and buffer area as an initiative to be reviewed in more detail.
They also proposed a 150-metre-wide buffer along the eastern and southern boundaries of the expansion area to provide separation between the proposed industrial area and adjacent residential areas.
Increased setbacks of up to 300 metres would be put in place for more intense industrial uses and those uses which involve hazardous products or materials.
Scrap and salvage yards, including metal shredding, would be prohibited to address community concerns that American Iron and Metal could relocate its waterfront recycling operation to the industrial park.
The city also proposed “targeted community investment” through proceeds from development which could involve reserving a portion of land sales from the new industrial park to benefit community projects in Lorneville.
No timeline was given for when the proposal will come back to council.
