Charlottetown residents take asphalt plant protest to city hall

A group of Charlottetown residents are continuing to fight city council on their decision about asphalt and concrete plants.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside Charlottetown city hall Thursday to protest council's recent decision to allow more asphalt plants in the city.

This was the second protest the group has heldin a week the first was on Brackley Point Road near the airport.

The residents areagainst a recent council decision to allow asphalt and concrete plantsin heavy industrial zones. There are two of those zones in the city The West Royalty Industrial Park and sections of Sherwood Road.

The change would pave the way for any company to open a plant there without having to go through the city's public consultation process, however the application would first have to meet provincial environmental standards.

The group isupset that more notice of the public meeting around the issue was not given.

The city did advertise the meeting in the newspaper and on radio the rules under city bylaws. But since it was not dealing with a specific rezoning, letters to residents in the area were not required.

The group has several concerns with the possibility of anotherasphalt plant in the cityincludinga negative effect onCharlottetown property values, both noise and air pollution and tourists' first impressions of the city.

Charlottetown residents were blindsided by the decision, said Jamie Brown, owner of Brown's Volkswagen on Sherwood Road, who attended Thursday's protest.

He said he was happy with the turnout of residents and business owners.

"It shows that the business community and residents of Charlottetown simply do not want more asphalt and concrete plants within our city."

Brown said the process was not transparent.

"The city put this through the back door and we are not happy with this process."

This goes against everything that the city is trying to do within their long-term plan. Jamie Brown

Cathy Feener, the spokesperson for the group, saidshe is upset about the process, particularly how a push for a public meeting was quashed.

According to council minutes, at the June 10monthly meeting,Coun. MitchTweel put forward a vote to defer the first reading of the amendmentin order to hold a public meeting on the issue. That deferral passed.

But at aspecial meeting of council held on June 17that deferral was rescinded after it was revealed by the city's solicitor that discussions during a closed session of council made it clear that council wanted to move ahead with the readings of the bylaw change.

Tweel argued the point and the council then voted to rescind the deferral, leading to the passing of the amendment.

'Public is still not aware'

Brown said he knew when he set up his business onSherwood Road that there was an asphalt plant already operating, but adding another would cause more issues.

"That asphalt plant has been there since 1944. We've accepted the current traffic and truck traffic, and pollution. However to have more asphalt plantsand concrete plants will double or triple the heavy truck traffic," he said.

"This goes against everything that the city is trying to do within their long-term plan."

Feener said the public should havebeen notified more clearly. She said there was an advertisement of the public meeting about bylaw changes, but it was vague.

"We feel that the public is still not aware of the decision council has made," she said.

There will be a process. Mayor Philip Brown

"That should havehad its own bold print so that people could have been there. Nobody was there because nobody knew."

She added she isn't against business or those who pave roadsbut the location.

"It's not in the right place, there is a better place for it outside the city."

'There will be a process'

Listed on thegroup's press release are the Charlottetown councillors who voted for or against the decision, as well as provincial politicians the group encourages people to reach out to with concerns.

The group saidit will be holding its own public meeting July 10, at 7 p.m. at the West Royalty Community Centre.

The group isplanning to appeal council's decision to IRAC.

Mayor Philip Brown said he will be at the public meeting next week to hear from Charlottetown residents.

"There will be a process," he said.

He said if IRAC decidesthe city didn't properly advertise public meetings, then the city will have the go through the whole process again.

"To this point it has been given second reading therefore it is part of the bylaw. Now, to see if IRACagrees ordisagrees with our decision remains to be seen," the mayor told protestors.

Brown said due to legal reasons he cannot reveal how he would vote on the issue if it were to come back to council. He did say if the second reading had come to a tie vote, he would have sided with "the environment."

More P.E.I. news