Burnside -
When Ross Cantwell first delivered his report and recommendations that formed the basis for the Business parks Functional Plan about two years ago now, one of his key findings was the need to secure more industrial land.
Cantwell pointed out that new industrial land in HRM was already in short supply and the city needed to take a seriously look at not only protecting what it had, but also at securing new lands for industrial expansion. I believe he recommended banking something in the neighbourhood of a 25-year supply, at current demand levels.
City council has taken some steps toward this goal; it recently brought several hectares of land back in the Park that had been left out due to an earlier zoning oversight. However, no sooner is that step taken and we are already faced with the possibility of losing even more.
A public meeting held in late January focused on the future use of land located between Wilkinson Avenue and Dartmouth Crossing. This land is currently zoned I-2, which is to say it's reserved for general industrial usage. Due to deadlines, this column was actually written prior to the meeting, but I believe I can accurately predict what will transpire there.
When Dartmouth Crossing applied to have part of its property rezoned to allow it to develop a residential component, several Dartmouth residents from the opposite side of Lake Charles were in attendance. They were concerned their sight lines would be degraded if industrial development were to take place on the Dartmouth Crossing lands. Thus, they were obviously in favour of the rezoning application.
The Burnside lands in question in this more recent public meeting are also within those sight lines, so it doesn't seem like much of a stretch to say some of the same people will be out again to argue against industrial development on these lands.
I also wouldn't be surprised if representatives of Dartmouth Crossing were present to argue against such development. After all, it would be a lot easier to develop and sell their residential projects if they didn't have industrial neighbours.
The problem here is exactly the one identified by Cantwell. Residential concerns are important, but lets not forget that industrial and business properties carry a significant portion of the tax burden in our fair city. Start cutting back on these sources too much and we are going to have a significant revenue generation shortfall.
Also, if industrial land becomes harder and harder to come by, the province will start to lose more business to its regional competitors. Already the Moncton area business parks are grabbing up huge chunks of industrial development thanks to cheaper prices and less burdensome tax regimes. Do we really need to give them another ace?
The Greater Burnside Business Association (GBBA) seems to have the right attitude on this subject. Although it supports the need to keep land zoned for industrial uses, it also recognizes the realities of politicians needing to address the concerns of their constituents. Therefore the Association has stated it would like to see the lands in question stayed I-2 zoned, but if they are to be rezoned, it wants the city to come forward with a plan for where new industrial land for Burnside will be found to replace what is lost.
Some may say I am being alarmist. After all, we are only talking about a few hectares here, right? So what if they are rezoned for less intensive uses?
I know the term is a little hackneyed from over use, but I truly do see this as the thin edge of the wedge. City staff will tell you there are no precedents when it comes to rezoning, that each case is evaluated in an individual basis. However, it is certainly easier to see the merits of a second or third such push once the first one has been granted.
We need industrial lands in order to keep Burnside and our municipal economy growing. If we let the land we currently have for that purpose be chipped away without being immediately replaced, we jeopardize our future.
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