St. John’s ratifies new collective agreement with firefighters

St. John’s city council started its meeting on Nov. 26 by announcing it was ratifying a new collective agreement between the City and IAFF Local 1075, which represents local firefighters.

The union voted Nov. 13 to accept the four-year agreement, which gives incremental raises to the firefighters each year at a total cost of just over $2.84 million.

Coun. Carl Ridgeley said he was happy to see the City and firefighters negotiate a new agreement without having to go to arbitration, a sentiment echoed by Mayor Danny Breen.

Breen thanked the members of the St. John’s Regional Fire Department for their service.

“It’s kind of hard sometimes to describe how important the fire department is to the city and the region in the work that they do,” he said. “What was once predominantly a fire suppression services is now a key part of our medical system when it comes to emergencies, and the work that you do is is certainly appreciated by the residents of all the communities that you serve, and the professionalism and the the expertise that you bring to that every day, and your dedication, is appreciated. 

“Thank you to all those and your families, too, because it is dangerous work, and it’s work that certainly has a tremendous amount of risk involved in it, but your professionalism and training works well in the field for you.”

Council voted unanimously to ratify the new collective agreement. 

Following that, council moved into development applications, the first of which was for a 10 per cent variance on a side yard setback to accommodate the construction of a four-plex on a corner lot at 9 Anderson Ave.

According to the direction note provided to council, the application to construct the four-plex is under the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is supposed to provide incentive funding for local governments aimed at increasing the supply of housing.

Council received one submission from a nearby property owner opposed to the application, citing concerns about existing tenants ranging from noise, vehicles parked on the street, debris on the property, and snow being piled on adjacent lawns.

Coun. Tom Davis mentioned the concerns before the matter came to a vote, saying that people do have to keep their property up, and not maintaining property isn’t a good way to do business as a landlord. Coun. Maggie Burton said she was excited to see a project under the Housing Accelerator Fund come forward, and she hopes to see more in the future. Coun. Ron Ellsworth also expressed support for the application, saying it’s becoming common now to see applications for multi units, four-plexes, and backyard suites before council. 

Large crown land grant shot down

Council shot down a crown land referral from the province for a large parcel of land near George’s Pond Road. The approximately 25.8 hectares is in the comprehensive development area (CDA) 9. The City’s development regulations specify that no development is permitted in a CDA until council has approved a development plan for the entire area, the area is available for serviced development and has been suitably rezoned. The decision note to council says the release of Crown land is “premature at this time due to the recent announcement of a new provincial hospital site, and the requirements for further design work to determine a servicing plan for this area, which includes the noted CDA.”

A number of councillors weighed in on the proposal, with Coun. Sandy Hickman and Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary opposed council rejecting the grant.

“I’m not really happy about turning down potential for a very interesting project in probably a very good location,” Hickman said. “We have nobody else knocking on our door looking to develop that piece of land and, you know, we want to expand the tax base. We also want to provide for interesting opportunities, and from my understanding this would be a very interesting one. If we’re going to wait for a water tower for the government to do that, that could be two years, it could be 10 years, could be 20 years, who knows?”

The water tower in question was raised in the House of Assembly on Nov. 14, when Transportation and Works Minister Fred Hutton confirmed the province will need to build a new water tower in the area, both for the newly announced hospital and for further development in nearby Paradise.

Hickman said this could be a lost opportunity and is concerned the City would be shutting it down at such an early stage.

O’Leary thinks there’s merit to a potential project in that area, which is between Blackmarsh Road and Kenmount Road, and that “just saying a firm no at this stage of the game” is not something she can support.

Ron Ellsworth spoke in favour of rejecting the application, saying he agreed it was premature at this point to support it and he would be open to revisiting it if the province changes its plans for the new water tower.

Burton and Coun. Greg Noseworthy also opposed supporting the grant at this time. Burton said when the City contemplates greenfield development like this, it’s important they do it right and that proper planning procedures are followed.

“If staff feel strongly that this is a premature release of Crown land at this time, then I think that we should listen,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that nothing can happen on this site. It just means that it’s not the right time to do so. So I believe that it would be within the best interest of taxpayers of the City, and of the City in general, that we wait until the time is right to look at what the development is. I’m very open-minded to what could go in this location, but I think that we just need to follow the proper procedures.”

Council voted to reject the land grant, with O’Leary and Hickman dissenting. 

Art procurement

The City approved the 2024 Art Procurement jury’s recommendations regarding the purchase of artwork submitted to the program this year.

This year, 249 pieces from 94 artists were submitted for consideration, and the City purchased 24 pieces for a total of $19,960. Pieces purchased for the Civic Art Collection are displayed throughout City Hall and other municipal buildings, in offices, boardrooms, public spaces, among others. 

Before council voted to accept the recommendations, O’Leary said the creative community is invaluable to the identity and economic development of the City.

This year’s submissions contain a wide variety of art forms, including sculptures, paintings, mittens and hooked rugs.

New life for West End Fire Station

Council voted to adopt a heritage plan for 265 LeMarchant Rd., the former West End Fire Station, and approved a discretionary-use application to allow 20 apartments in the building, with a parking requirement of 20 spaces.

The approval gives the go-ahead for the developer to add an additional two storeys onto the former fire station, which will be slightly recessed to highlight the original part of the building.

Burton, who presented the motion on behalf of the planning committee and also sits on the City’s Built Heritage Experts Panel, said she was in support of the project and that it was in line with the City’s heritage design standards.

“When we look at our heritage use category, this is a great development application that’s an example of the creative applications that heritage use provides,” she said. “You can get a designated building—and then you can open up a lot more doors with what you can do with that designated building—and this is one such example of that. 

“I think that the proponents should be commended for applying to redevelop this unoccupied building and adding an additional two storeys to make it four storeys in total, and 20 dwelling units, 20 parking spots, 16 two-bedroom, four one-bedroom — it sounds like a great project.”

O’Leary also supported redevelopment of the 82-year-old building, which became the first modernist-style building in the city to be designated a heritage property in December 2021. She said the plan for this building is an example of innovation and creativity.

“So happy to see this beautiful kind of assessment of a property that could be used for housing, which we know is desperately needed ,” she said. “Also, I find it very interesting because this structure, not unlike the present Bannerman Brewery structure—the old former East End fire station—how we can look at repurposing buildings that provide not only good quality of life, but also economic development, and in this case, obviously fantastic to see the potential for height to go up so that we can incorporate more housing needs in the mix while we’re still retaining the heritage aspect. I think this is exactly what we’re looking for, this kind of collaboration, this kind of innovative approach to development with a heritage building.”

Ellsworth also spoke in favour of the development but took umbrage with comments made in the media by the developer, Reardon Construction and Development, about the length of time the process has taken. Ellsworth said the building was designated as a heritage structure to make the process move quicker than a rezoning would have, and the time it has taken to get a heritage report completed and to go back and forth with staff about it, are normal timeframes for this type of project.

“I’m glad to support this project [and] can’t wait for these guys to get this finished,” he said. “It’s going to be a beautiful addition to LeMerchant Road that certainly needs some new life brought in and some new opportunities, and this will be a good one to see come forward.”

Galways residents concerned about personal care home

A petition signed by 70 Galway residents concerned about proposed changes to Stage 1 development plan for the neighbourhood, and a possible personal care home on Claddagh Road, was presented by area representative Coun. Carl Ridgeley.

Ridgeley said he was bringing it forward on behalf of the residents before council votes on the zoning changes for Galway, and that residents are concerned about a potential change from an apartment building on Claddagh Road to a personal care home. Ridgeley said he had been speaking with the developer and was assured an apartment building would be going there, not a personal care home.

Following the meeting, RIdgeley told The Independent he had been speaking with Galway developer Danny Williams about it and he was assured it would be an apartment building.

Council also received more than a dozen written submissions about the changes proposed by Galway Residential GP Incorporated, which is a partnership between DewCor and Clayton Developments, with many opposed. More than a few of the written submissions said they were not opposed to a personal care home in Galway, but that they were specifically opposed to the potential change on Claddagh Road.

A public meeting was held in November 2023 about the proposed zoning changes, which would include allowing smaller lot sizes in the neighbourhood, the addition of personal care homes as a permitted use, revising some trail and open space locations, making some changes to stormwater infrastructure and altering some future road networks into more of a grid pattern.

About a dozen residents attended that meeting, with many expressing concerns about increased density and saying they had been sold a vision of Galway that these changes are not in line with.

One resident, who said he expected “a certain quality of life” in Galway, said they might even have a legal case against the developer for the changes, now that Galway is going to be a “normal subdivision”.

Burton, who presented the zoning changes to council, said the changes align with the St. John’s municipal plan by establishing a more gridlike street network with pedestrian paths, increasing the housing density, and providing a greater mix of housing.

She clarified with staff that no new development was proposed in Galway with this application, since any new development in Galway is subject to the developer completing an extension of Southlands Boulevard to link it to the Southlands neighborhood and a new access road north of the site to Beaumont Hamel Way.

Deputy City Manager Jason Sinyard confirmed that any new development approvals in the neighbourhood would require the completion of the road. “That’s been a condition that’s been in place for a while,” he said. “It’s my understanding the proponents are working towards a solution on that, but that is a condition that remains in place.”