Residents cool to Melford rezoning
Change would provide water access for industrial development
MELFORD - Residents of Melford and area have been down this road before. More than 50 people who turned out at a public hearing at the Hadleyville Fire Hall Thursday on proposed rezoning in the Melford area could be forgiven for being hesitant to support the plan. The proposal would create an expanded M-3 industrial area to allow water access to the existing industrial park in Melford. Thirty years ago the District of Guysborough set up the 14,000-acre industrial park, the Melford Land Reserve, to accommodate industrial development, but nothing has happened there.
"You guys took the land (of the Melford Land Reserve) 30 years ago; you had 30 years to do something with the land," said local fisherman Charlie Warner. "There was nothing done with it."
This time around, many residents were looking for some kind of guarantee that industrial development will take place in the near future, if this rezoning takes place. The changes are reflected through proposed amendments to the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use Bylaw for the Northeastern Guysborough Planning Area.
Guysborough's Chief Administrative Officer, Dan MacDougall, said council can't guarantee development if the changes are approved. "They can only guarantee it won't happen if rezoning doesn't take place," he said. The public hearing was an opportunity for local residents to comment and express concerns related to the proposed changes. The proposal deals with four specific parcels of land linking the existing industrial area with the shoreline.
According to documents the municipality distributed at the meeting, these changes are an attempt to address several economic realities, including the high unemployment rate in the municipality, a steep decline in population, the loss of jobs in traditional resource sectors, and low incomes in the district.
Horace Welsh talked about the rezoning that took place in 1972, and how some local people had their land expropriated and were moved to the Hadleyville area. "Government built those homes and there's never been anything done with the land."
Welsh questioned the right of council to expropriate land in this case. "We're not against jobs, but why should we sacrifice what we paid for all our lives? There should be a plebiscite on whether they want this rezoning down here."
Several others at the meeting echoed the call for a plebiscite. Welsh said some people are going to have to give up their lands in order to get jobs for the county.
MacDougall said a plebiscite "is a tool that council can choose to use or not to use." He said if council held a plebiscite, it would only be providing advice to council; the results would not be binding upon council.
Former municipal councillor Valerie Rhynold also expressed frustration that the community is looking at rezoning again for industrial development, when nothing has happened with the Melford Land Reserve.
"Not one job was created on those 14,000 acres of land," she said. "And now you're telling us you need more…I think you can understand the skepticism of people living here…we've heard this before."
Warden Lloyd Hines said council hears and understands the concerns of local residents. "We understand that here, in this particular community, the wounds that were created through the expropriation are still there…Council takes the interests of the community into consideration in every decision it makes."
Many of those in attendance said they would be more comfortable supporting the rezoning effort if they were aware of what industry might be setting up shop there.
"None of us is against industry," said John MacQuarrie of Sand Point. "We want to stop the out-migration of our kids out West and everywhere else…But put something on the table that we can discuss….If council has something, tell us and we'll likely back you 100 per cent…If you have a proposal, tell us and let us respond to that. If not, drop it (the rezoning) for now."
Hines explained that the municipality has signed confidentiality agreements with several companies, so they can't name those companies or discuss their interest in the district.
For those who want a little more information on what types of industry might be coming, MacDougall suggested they look at the list of permitted uses, outlined in the amendment documents, for lands zoned M-3. "We have not had discussions with anyone outside of these permitted uses." Those uses are: LNG facilities, gas processing facilities, petrochemical facilities, oil refineries, marine/container terminals, power generation facilities and wind farms.
The proposed changes also stipulate safeguards to minimize any negative visual impact of developments in the area. The proposed policy changes say that council will "establish special controls in the Industrial Resource (M-3) Zone relating to the provision of landscaping, earth berms and external colour/textures used on structures and buildings in this zone." There are also stipulations in the proposed changes to protect public recreation areas.
This public hearing was part of the formal process for the rezoning. The municipality was also in the Melford area in September for a more informal discussion of the rezoning plans at an open house.
Planning director Gary Cleary said council is interested in purchasing "strategic parcels of land" in the four designated areas. "Council would be interested in negotiating on those properties."
Cleary also said council will not expropriate land unless it is "strategic enough to prohibit development." He noted that only one of the four parcels of land up for rezoning has houses on it.
The parcels in question do not include water lots. Any company wishing to secure water lots would have to deal with the Department of Natural Resources.
Welsh said his main concern is for those who are close to the development, but won't be among those selling to the municipality or industry. "The people who are forced to move with be the lucky ones," he said, noting that a buffer zone around industrial projects won't prevent pollution, such as that from smoke stacks, from affecting the area. "They call this cottage country," he noted.
Several people said the municipality should do what it can to ensure people working on any new industrial projects live in the area, as opposed to commuting from other communities, through the establishment of a subdivision in the area.
Hines said council is trying to make sure policies are in place related to the infrastructure needed for residential development, so that developers know exactly what they need to do to build residential communities in the district.
The proposed rezoning documents will have second reading at council's regular monthly meeting on Feb. 8.
In response to a question about whether the municipality would be selling land it acquires to industry, or giving it away for development, MacDougall said council is not allowed to sell land at less than market value, unless it is to a non-profit group.
There is no appeal process in place with regards to council's final decision in this rezoning matter.
A process to establish M-3 rezoning was recently completed for certain lands in the Goldboro area.
