Irving Pulp & Paper in Saint John has withdrawn its application to rezone a third of nearby Wolastoq Park for a 500-stall parking lot.
The company announced its decision Friday afternoon, a day after council decided it would be willing to approve only a temporary rezoning.
The company wants the parking lot for employees during a $1.1 billion upgrade of the mill.
At a council meeting Thursday night, Andy Carson, the Irving government relations director, said a temporary lot was not acceptable. He said the mill would still need the lot for hundreds of workers who will be needed for maintenance work in the years after the upgrade.
But council backed an option presented by staff that would see the land rezoned with a five-year sunset clause, after which the property would revert to parkland.
“Saint John Common Council and city staff are placing unreasonable conditions on our ask to rezone our land, effectively denying our application.,” the company said Friday.
“We repeatedly and clearly communicated a temporary approval is not at all viable.”
The statement says the “drawn-out process” the proposal faced in front of council, has only added “uncertainty to the significant economic headwinds all businesses are facing in a tariff environment.”
The company says it still requires parking in the long-term 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.”
Company vice-president Mark Mosher declined to be interviewed after the statement.
After the lot was first proposed in November, council heard from residents concerned about the loss of parkland and the effect such a large parking lot would have on traffic at nearby Simms Corner.
Even city staff opposed rezoning the parkland, but on Thursday presented council with a few options to consider.
This option that included the sunset clause also required Irving to enter into an agreement with the city on public benefits, such as financial help addressing the problems of Simms Corner, long a complicated traffic challenge.
“Industry is good for your city,” Mayor Donna Reardon said when a vote by 10 councillors on the temporary option ended in a tie that Reardon had to break.
“We need to be good partners and we do need to outline what our expectations are for industry. If we’re going to work with industry, industry needs to have a social license.”
Other options presented by city staff included approval of Irving’s proposal as it is or adding conditions about community benefits.
Council’s decision was made in front opponents and supporters of the parking lot.
It left the ball in the company’s court on whether it would follow through on the temporary-lot idea.
“It’s a difficult decision because you want to see the industry move forward,” Reardon said to reporters after the vote.
“But we were voted in by citizens, and so we have to bring forward the citizens’ concerns.”
The zoning request had had previously seen two delays in front of council, the first because of time constraints.
The second time on Feb 24, councillors asked staff and Irving to work out an agreement on community benefits if the project went ahead.
The original Irving proposal included a pedestrian bridge over Bridge Road, a sheltered bus stop, new trail around the park and other area improvements.
After the Feb 24 meeting, the company pledged contributions to city recreation spaces, including $500,000 in support of upgrades to Dominion Park and the Harbour Passage.
A staff report submitted to council also says the company is open to exploring a trail between Fallsview Park and the New Brunswick Museum.
Benefits a ‘slap in the face,’ says resident
Coun. Joanna Killen voted against the proposal and questioned what the mill proposed as community benefits.
“Let’s be clear, a half-a-million-dollar offer is appreciated, but it only represents 0.05 per cent of the $1 billion mill upgrade,” she said.
Sara Staschick, who has spoken in previous meetings opposing the proposal, also expressed frustration.
“I’m irritated that [councillors] were generous enough to give the applicant a second chance to try to work this out, and they came back with what’s effectively a slap in the face to this community,” she said.
Stashick, who urged councillors to “just say no” to the plan, wants to see how the company responds to council’s choice of option, but feels it’s doing the bare minimum.
Shannon Merrifield of the Chamber of Commerce said councillors dropped the ball on what should have been an easy decision for a full approval.
“Obviously, an investment of this size is pivotal in order for us to attract investment going forward,” she said.
“So for us as a region to look at this very small part of a bigger picture and not endorse it sends not a great message and it’s disappointing.”
