Some Quispamis councillors are not sold on a proposed development along the Gondola Point Arterial which could include big-box stores.
Propertystar wants to rezone 42 acres of land between Monarch Drive and Hampton Road from residential to highway commercial.
The proposal includes an office space and retail warehouse-style business, along with potential big-box stores.
More than a dozen area residents spoke out against the plans during a public hearing in March. Two petitions with more than 200 signatures in total were also presented to council.
Mark Hatfield, president of Propertystar, was asked to come back to council with modified plans which address resident concerns.
During last week’s regular council meeting, Hatfield said one of the proposed changes is increasing the buffer between nearby homes to 25 metres from 15 metres.
“In looking at that, 8.5 metres will still be natural habitat, which is approximately 25- to 35-foot trees,” Hatfield told council.
Hatfield said he has also incorporated a six-metre (18-foot) embankment to reduce noise for nearby properties.
“Nobody from the Monarch [Drive] will see anything in this development,” he said.
Dwight Colbourne, the town’s municipal planning officer, said the zoning bylaw does not provide specific details for the width of the buffer between residential and highway commercial zones, rather it provides discretion for council and the Planning Advisory Committee.
Colbourne noted that the minimum buffer width in the light industrial and business park commercial zones is 15 metres.
The current zoning bylaw requires any building in a commercial zone abutting residential property to be two times greater than the height of the building away from the property, which Colbourne said the Propertystar proposal satisfies.
Renderings of a proposed commercial development along the Gondola Point Arterial in Quispamsis. Image: submitted
Hatfield also plans to incorporate more environmentally protected areas into the project, according to a town staff report.
Some areas will remain unaltered, while others will become bioswales to aid in stormwater management and protection of the existing ecosystems.
“A bioswale is a natural habit that we’re going to build using existing materials, small shrubbery, that’s going to help cool the hot water as it comes off the hot surfaces, so when it enters Colton Brook, it’s cold again,” said Hatfield.
Residents also raised concerns about increased traffic with plans to extend Phinney Lane through the development so it connects with the Arterial, but Hatfield said he does not believe that will be the case.
“People are not going to be entering Monarch [Drive] to go to this commercial development. They’re going to be entering it through the Arterial,” said Hatfield.
“What I do see happening is people from the Monarch Drive area going down Colton Brook [Road] onto Phinney [Lane] and coming up into the new commercial area to access the Arterial in a safe manner, a controlled access.”
Despite the changes, Quispamsis councillors are split on their support for the proposed development.
Three of six councillors voted against the second reading of the municipal plan bylaw amendment and the first and second reading of the zoning bylaw amendment: Noah Donovan, Kerrie Luck, and Beth Thompson.
Donovan said he is still not sure this project fits next to an existing residential area of the town.
“This has been sort of a painful process for me, only because I can see both sides of the story,” said Donovan.
“I respect that you’re trying to bring something bigger and better to Quispamsis and I hope you would respect that I have to sit here and try to make decisions that I think are best for everybody.”
Donovan said he would like to see the property remain some form of residential, whether that is houses or apartment buildings.
Council voted 3-3 on the bylaw amendments with Mayor Libby O’Hara casting the final votes in favour.
Third and final reading of the amendments will be considered at a future meeting.
