Saint John nixes development projects

Saint John council scrapped two development plans on Monday night after citizens complained to city politiciansabout the proposals.

Plans to construct a high-voltage overhead power line in west Saint John and another to build a new gravel pit in the Latimore Lake area were both rejected on Monday.

Saint John council unanimously rejected a plan to install a high-voltage overhead power line through a west Saint John neighbourhood and connect to theAmerican Iron and Metal facility.

Local residents presented a petition to city council with 250 names on it opposing the project. Some homeowners were worried the line would block their views of the bay, hurt their property values and decrease their quality of life.

NB Power had defended the proposal saying it would be too expensive to bury the transmission line and to maintain it in the future.

Saint John Mayor Ivan Court said he hopes the decision to reject the bid does not cost the city business.

"We know the importance of the Port of Saint John and we know the importance of American Iron," Court said.

"We hope that we can through the city manager find an option and help them find a location maybe in one of our industrial parks. We don't want to lose any business from the city of Saint John."

American Iron and Metal announced in January that it was going to proceed with a $30-million scrap metal shredder.

The expanded facility could process up to 250,000 metric tonnes of scrap annually, an increase output of roughly 500 per cent. The company estimated the project could create 23 direct jobs and 20 spinoff jobs.

New gravel pit dumped

Saint John councillors also dismissed an application to build a new gravel pit in the Latimore Lake area.

Coun. Bruce Court recommended denying the request, saying it was a difficult decision, but he felt council had no choice.

"We were told by city staff that we get out to the gravel pits one or two times a year and if you're going to have two separate operations working, there'd be no control, no policing and no way to tell whether they're working both pits, one pit, half a pit, two thirds of a pit," Court said.

"So I don't believe the citizens out there want this."

Some area residents had voiced concerns about the noise and dust that would come from a new gravel pit.

Steven Langille, of Fundy Bay Sand and Gravel, had argued the proposed pit would be too far from homes for dust to be a problem and that the pit would only operate on week days until 6 p.m.