Irving withdraws request to rezone Wolastoq Park for pulp mill parking lot

Irving Pulp & Paper in Saint John has withdrawn its application to rezone a third of nearby Wolastoq Park for a 500-stall parking lot.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. 

"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 pulp mill is part of J .D. Irving Ltd., which bought the parkland property after the closure of the Centracare psychiatric hospital. It was rezoned as parkland, but now the company says it needs it for a parking lot for employees during a $1.1 billion upgrade of the mill. 

Shortly after Irving's announcement Friday, Mayor Donna Reardon told CBC News that council tried to do the right thing when it chose to back a possible compromise after residents and city staff opposed the rezoning.

"We tried to find a path forward last night that we could live with as a council," Reardon said. "And if that doesn't suit them, that's certainly their prerogative to respond to it the way that they feel is the best for them."

A special council meeting Thursday night was devoted to the Irving proposal. 

Andy Carson, the company's government relations director, told council 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 chose an option presented by city staff that would see the land rezoned with a five-year sunset clause, after which the property would revert to parkland.

After Irving withdrew its request, Reardon said council needs to look at proposals through a larger lens than the applicant and prioritize the whole city. 

"And so that's what we are trying to navigate — that whole scope as we go forward — and we felt that that was the best scope for not only JDI but for the city as well. We felt that that was a five-year opportunity for them." Reardon said. 

She said she hopes industry in the city and council can continue working together toward shared goals.

"We need to set some expectations of what a social licence [for industry] to operate is for starters," she said. 

"We need to get together with our heavy industry communities and have some engagement, and build trust. We need to make sure that we respect each other because if you have a relationship, then that certainly adds to the future success of projects going forward."

Councillors divided

The 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," Reardon said before council voted on the temporary option, but industry also needs to be "good partners" with the city.

The mayor then broke the tie vote by 10 councillors.

"We were voted in by citizens, and so we have to bring forward the citizens' concerns," she said.

Other options presented by city staff included approval of Irving's proposal as it was or adding conditions about community benefits.

"It's a difficult decision because you want to see the industry move forward," Reardon said to reporters after the vote.

The zoning request 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 was open to exploring a trail between Fallsview Park and the New Brunswick Museum. 

The Irving statement Friday said 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." 

Benefits a 'slap in the face,' says resident

The vote before both opponents and supporters of the Irving plan left the ball in the company's court on whether the temporary lot might go ahead.

Sara Staschick, who has spoken in previous meetings opposing the proposal, also expressed frustration after Thursday's decision. 

"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."