Council Decides Not to Decide…Yet…on Otway OCP Change
Prince George ,B.C.- A full house at Prince George City Council as more than 150 people were on hand for the public hearing that called for changes to Prince George’s Official Community Plan and a rezoning, to allow for a piece of property on Otway Road to be designated light industrial.
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at right, the subject property outlined in black and highlighted with lines)
After 4 hours of hearing the proposal, and comments from the neighbourhood, Council voted to postpone the balance of the public hearing, and resume the discussion on May 9th.
“We’ve been in these chairs for 5 hours, four of which have been this public hearing” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “I certainly don’t want us as a Council to be making any decision on the fly,. We could be at this for another couple of hours. If that’s the case, it will be a new day, and we may not be at the top of our game when we debate this and I don’t want to run the risk.”
Those in support and against the change to the Official Community plan, came well armed, with hundreds of signatures on petitions and letters both in support and in opposition to the changes.
The proponent has taken steps to address concerns, including reducing the maximum site coverage allowed from 80% to 40%. The proponent has also put restrictive covenants on the property removing numerous uses which would normally be allowed on a Light Industrial site, reducing them from 46 uses to just 8. The proponent has also completed a groundwater review and determined there would be no threat to the Nechako Aquifer. On the issue of sound, or visual impacts, there will be a berm constructed to ensure the viewscape remains green. And as a final incentive, has offered to turn the balance of the site (38.8 acres) over to the City for the City’s future use.
There are two companies involved that would like to develop the site, CIF Construction and Timber West. The owners of both companies spoke of their long history in the City and their positive contributions to the local economy. “All we are asking you for , is an opportunity to better ourselves” said Jack Fomenoff, owner of CIF Construction.
Council heard from a long list of opponents, with the first to step forward being Adrian Wilson who said approving this project opens the door for “unsightly industrial sprawl which is incompatible with the neighbourhood.” In speaking against the proposal, Wilson detailed 9 concerns in a presentation that lasted more than an hour. He alleged the proponents are not being forthcoming about their use of chemicals in their operations and the threat those chemicals could pose to the aquifer which provides 95% of the City’s water. He discounted many of the proponents letters of support sating they were signed by either companies or past and present employees who had financial links with the proponents. He also pointed to the community plan which says industrial lands are to be on full City water and sewer service and that is not the case here.
Councillor Brian Skakun asked why this property isn’t expected to be on full city water and sewer. Staff explained there are some light industrial properties in the city which have septic systems because of distances to city services, but that this proposal will not be exempt from a ground water protection plan.
North Nechako resident Jeff Northrop presented 7 reasons for the neighbourhood’s opposition, echoing many of the concerns presented by Wilson, saying “We as a community are not anti development, we simply want industry to be located in areas which are appropriate for industrial use.”
Mike Guimond of Canada Recycle Corp expressed concern that if Council denied this application, his company’s application to have another strip along Otway rezoned will be doomed.
Jim Burbee lives on the north side of the Nechako River, directly across from the proposed site “They are literally in the face of our neighbourhood” He said he can hear voices from across the river when he sits on his sun deck. He reminded Council that industrial zoning on these specific sites had been removed more than a decade ago because the use was not compatible with the neighbourhood. He called on Council to develop a community plan for the area that would put an end to 33 years of battles between residents and proponents.
Kathleen Haines has lived on Riverview Road for 37 years and presented Council with a historical perspective on who was on site first, the residents or industry, and with the exception of a sawmill on Otway Road, it was the residents who were there first.
Responding for the proponents, David McWalter said he was conflicted, that he has known Jack Fomenoff, owner of CIF, for many years, and said accusations about CIF being disingenuous were unfair comments made by the companies, and “could be considered libelous”.
McWalter said contrary to statements made, there is no surplus of light industrial land in Prince George, “I would say that even with Global Logistics land coming on stream (off Boundary Road), there is less than 100 hectares of light industrial land available.” He noted opponents failed to mention the proposed industrial uses on the site had been reduced to 8 from 46.
The public hearing will resume on May 9th
Comments
I question that last statement regarding the lack of light industrial land in the city. Perhaps some of the heavy industry land that has been vacant for years could be converted to light industry, in the CN and BCR sites for example. I think it would be inconvenient for the proponent to expand to another location but not impossible.
So what happened to the Mayor’s Select Committee on Economic Development?
The proponents have to rely on good engineering to back up their proposal, yet the lefty job and growth killers from across the river can tie up city hall for hours merely expressing opinions?
Right on, Contractor!
I am wondering IF Council tuns this down, the result will be that the proponents will stay where they are now. That is a solution??? I don’t think so.
What’s the point of an “official community plan” if we’re always amending it? I love our city, but the reality of the matter, we’re ugly. Why? We have industry sprinkled everywhere across this city.
If there is a true lack of light industrial land (which i doubt), then I suppose we should start zoning more industrial land elsewhere. I don’t like in N. Nechako, but I know I would be angry if industry suddenly popped up near me.
As soon as anyone opposes some industrial eyesore in their neighbourhood, they all become leftists to you types who think the entire countryside should look like Mordor.
Additionally, while I can appreciate a business which has contributed to PG, we can’t just bend over for any request. What kind of message does that send?
“give a bit back to the city, and get whatever you want”
McWalter is framing things very liberally in his client’s favour. It may be true that the airport light industrial area presently only has 100 hectares ready to go…
However, the developer of the airport light industrial park has significantly more land (more than a 1000 hectares) that he is willing and wanting to bring on line as there is up take.
There is an agreement with the Agricultural Land Commission to allow the airport lands out of the ALR with the payment of a few thousand per hectare. The developer of the airport land is smartly holding back pulling it all out until such time as it is needed. Why pay the money until he needs to?
McWalter knows this–he put the airport light industrial package together.
There is no shortage of light industrial land in Prince George.
There is no reason why this development could not be located at the airport. The City has said that they want no more industrial lands within the bowl’s air shed. This development should go outside the bowl–possibly near the airport. It should be in the bowl or anywhere near our river systems.
That should read, “It should NOT be in the bowl or anywhere near our river systems.”
I think the bigger issue is the difference in the land cost per acre doing it this way as opposed to going to industrial lands developed by a third party that will make a good profit on the sale of their development.
Both sides present valid arguments for and against the proposal. One other item worth mentioning is what will happen to the land they currently occupy if they are allowed to move down the road. Will there be another group setting up shop there?
I appreciate the idea that these companies seem to be pretty good corporate citizens. I don’t ever remember hearing any complaints about either company.
What is the rule regarding heavy truck traffic on Foothills? I would think that if a company was looking to add a yard for parking equipment, it would want to be next to the highway corridors that get them to their destinations quicker and without having to go through residential areas.
Wow, not enough time? Guess the city council did not put a time limit of 5 min for each speaker like the previous council did for another controversial public hearing a few years ago. lol Speakers have about 10 mins each according to the city do they not?
I suppose the protestors did not think it out, that the constant whinning and sniveling, actually is a negative impact. i’m sure a few of the people there, just liked the sound of their voice, and had no time hogging the microphone, and reiterating the same thing the last speaker said.
You should ask the guy building this thing to put it next door to you, since you wouldn’t mind having an industrial development next door to you.
Well the first one was about 80 or 90 minutes. Even their supporters were clapping when they were asked to speed it up. I don’t get why these important meetings aren’t done as single items for the entire meeting. They spend 2 hours on fluff then run out of time on major decisions.
PGguy: Yes, when such issues arise, it seems reasonable that Council meeting organizers would be able to determine public reactions – and if there are projections on extensive reaction that would exceed 3 hours, perhaps a separate meeting should be scheduled. This type of thing is too serious to be trumped by ‘fluff’.
Ahead of the meeting, city hall releases the notes and presentations to the general public. They should realize that if there is a 25 or 30 page power point presentation, it’s going to take some time to complete. Or better yet, review the size of the presentation and maybe ask the presenter to keep it moving along.
Nobody wants light industrial in their area, but everyone wants a short commute to work.
He spoke: I assume you are referring to those travelling on Otway Road to work. If the area was cleared of any (and all) industrial activities, there would be subdivisions cropping up along the way with perhaps hundreds of private dwellings and (horrors) apartments/condos. That will certainly affect traffic for those the west of 6161 Otway Road. One can also keep in mind that many, if not most, of these residents have no opinions on this development and many support it.
Will we see removal of industrial activities from this area? Not very likely!
So, it might be best to accept the proposal before us but definitely hold the proposers to their promises.
Last line: “proponents to their promises”
This is what happens when the city does not have a planning department. Wells jumps when any of the major engineering firms appear at city hall and snaps their fingers.
The residents are against this as they see it as the thin edge of the wedge in having all of Otway becoming industrial. Was not a big chunk of land behind the Northwood Inn on the Hart zoned light industrial, if so it is only a few clicks away from current location of CIF/TW.
I have met Jack and he is a good guy but that is not what this is about. I thought it was odd that a fair number of people sending in letters of support did not even reside here but as far away as the Maritimes. If they don’t live here should have no say or were they included to bulk up numbers of those supporting OCP change.
If the city continues with this haphazard planning the whole city will look like the drive from Austin road to the North Nechako….a couple of houses…a trailer manufacturing facility….bulk fuel station….a house…a run down motel…another house…storage facility….welding shop…trailer park…etc. Dogs breakfast!
I agree totally about Wells as well as the lack of a properly headed planning department.
Be that as it may, I am not sure why people are looking at finding light industrial land. The land proposed here is zoned AF. They are not only trying to get it rezoned, but they have to change the OCP in order to do so.
The OCP is about 4 years old. The continuous fight between the residents of the North Nechako side should have given a hint to the last review of the OCP which took about 2 years to complete, should have addressed this pinch point of an issue at that time once and for all.
It failed to do so. The planner of the day, in my opinion, did not do his work. I do not know whether it was politics that stopped it, a time constraint because other issues were taking too long, or because he was simply not as good as he should have been at his job.
In either case, in my view this is a City-wide issue. Why? Because we are blessed with two rivers around which the city is built. We have no real purpose made inventory of land uses along the river which start with viewscapes from the vantage point of the rivers’ edges as well as flora and fauna providing the natural habitat data, then land uses along the edges of the river restricting public access, the nature of those land uses such as parks, public walkways, residential, industrial and other uses, potential for recapture of the edge, dangers of the shores eroding as well as opportunities where the river is building ne shore land.
The rivers are a heritage we are given and we need to nurture it lest we lose even more than we have already lost.
The OCP does not address these issues.
Time to get the notion of “talktober” out and put it to a better use than the general approach which obviously did not even catch this issue and bring to to the forefront to make administration aware how people think.
To undo an OCP with such a major long standing issue and take a few hours of hearings is a tragic development in the history of the new Council.
Canfor did better with promoting an MDF plant some 20 years ago. That kind of study is needed.
The question is even if the city’s administration got the best advice from a few professional city planners would they know what to do with that information. The planning department has been an empty facade for a decade or more.
Rather than hiring a head talking head-RVA- the city would have got a lot more bang for the buck hiring a competent and forward thinking city planner. But then a mouthpiece is perhaps more fitting for this mayor and council, lots of talk with little action.
I’ll put it bluntly and in a language which is appropriate. lol
The OCP is a worthless piece of paper and can be altered at the Councils whim.
Does the head of planning actually have “proper education” as head planner or is the experience etc. from the assessment branch/realtor constitute enough education? Anyone know?
The city has had two public meetings over the land that needs to be changed of the OCP. At the first meeting the public informed the city could not do what they wanted to do. Lo and behold after much chatter and letters the city planning was required to change their wording for the applicant can apply for the changes in the OCP!
It should not be up to the citizens of the city to correct city planners and city planners should not be doing the work of the applicants.
I personally have dealt with city planners as an opponent and they would not help one diddley squat. So who the dickens do they think they are working for? lol
When talk8ng about “a lack of light industrial property”, did nobody happen to mention the west end extension of the Willowcale Rd? This is a vast tract of land which has water, sewer, no residential, and lies within the BCR Industrial site. It was created about 11 years ago and not one single parcel has been used since its inception.
One would think that the City council would be pushing to fill it up, considering the infrastructure is there and not being utilized.
Price….. why are people forgetting about price?
I came here in 1973. Within a couple of years I was dealing with land development. planning, etc. and quickly discovered that Prince George had some of the highest asking prices for industrial land in the country.
I have not done much homework on that since then except the single foray into that tonight. It appears that it has not changed.
You must mean the north end extension. The road runs North-Northwest.
You are correct that there is some M2 and similar zoned land there which should suit without requiring rezoning.
Looking at one 4.8 hectare parcel at 4066 Willow Cale Rd It is 4.886 hectares with an assessed value at $834,000 which works out to $170,699/hectare. They should be able to build on 89% of the land there instead of the 40% they are offering.
The property at 6061 Otway is 27.765 hectares which was assessed at $268,600 for the land in 2015. That works out to $9,674/hectare.
In 2016 the land was assed at $566,000 or $20,385per hectare. Seems that they must have bought the property for twice the assessed value. The end result they bought a piece of property which they figure they could up zone for 12% of the asking price on the Willow Cale Rd.
Is it any wonder they are willing to give half the property away to the City if the City would zone it for their needs?
I won’t say what that sort of offer is normally called.
It is rather obvious why everyone on the proponent’s side is so quiet about the real reason why they cannot find property. They cannot afford the property they need, so they ride it out on the backs of the local residents as well as the remainder of the people living in PG who are more appreciative of river valley land use potential.
If this Council and administration fall for this sham, I really do not which council is worse, the present regime or the previous one.
Well they did renew the partnership with the admitted failed Nissan Leaf so not a great bunch of thinkers.
Your obsessive hatred for alternate energy technology indicates that you must work in the oil industry or your job is dependent on it.
That is exactly what is going on GoPG. It says a lot about PG as a city that this can even get to this point.
That should read …. ” I really do not KNOW which” …..
I’m so glad I keep a close eye on the target . I was actually looking at a piece of property across the river thinking what a nice quiet place , right on the river , bottom land , right on the river .
BTW, if the City were going to accept the offer of the land, the present owners would not only divest themselves of a property tax liability which is now at least twice as high as it was before they bought it and, if they got the zoning they want, the land would likely be assessed to a similar level as that in the Willow Cale Rd area. That would make it a heavy burden on the companies which likely means the businesses cannot afford it and they would go under.
The proponents may have made an offer pending a successful rezoning. I doubt that if that were the case, that BC Assessment would have doubled the assessed value from 2015 to 2016.
I had a friend with a house right across the river that sold last year. He paid over $8000 a year in property taxes with no city water or sewer services. Said he sold because he figured they would be next for the area resident funded ‘local area improvement’ aspect of city sewer and water build outs… for which he had no need. As well he was already having problems with the unregulated industrial activity across the river diminishing the value of his property that he was already paying premium taxes for as a premium neighborhood in the city. Its one more person that will never buy residential land within the city again after dealing with city hall.
PG’s lack of respect in zoning for residential areas is driving people away from the city.
These two businesses have plenty of choices of where to locate, don’t fall for the subterfuge. They just don’t want to pay the going rate, and instead wish to squat cheaply at the Otway location. City council this is a no brainer, have some foresight and realize what the area could be. And more importantly, listen to the residents, not persons who are paid by the businesses in question to bend the facts in their favour.
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