University Area plan hearing set for Nov. 18 in St. John’s

St. John’s will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, on changes to the city’s land-use rules for the University Area Neighbourhood Plan, and residents who want to comment in writing have until 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 16.

The hearing will take place in the Foran/Greene Room on the fourth floor of City Hall. People can also attend online by Zoom, but they must register first through the plan’s project page at engagestjohns.ca, the city said in a public notice posted Oct. 29.

Council adopted Municipal Plan Amendment No. 21 and Development Regulations Amendment No. 62 on Oct. 20. The amendments re-designate and rezone land inside the University Area neighbourhood boundary to match the vision and goals of the neighbourhood plan. They also make text changes to the municipal plan and the development regulations.

Council had adopted the amendments in principle in June. The Oct. 20 vote followed their release by the provincial government, according to the city’s council meeting recap. Council also appointed Marie Ryan as commissioner to oversee the hearing, which will be held in a hybrid format.

Comments can be sent to the Office of the City Clerk at [email protected] or by mail to P.O. Box 908, St. John’s, N.L., A1C 5M2. They must include a name and address, and they become part of the public record in the council agenda for the date of the final decision. The city said identifying information will be removed before comments are released publicly.

If no written objections are received, the hearing may be cancelled under the Urban and Rural Planning Act. Otherwise, all comments made at the hearing will go into the commissioner’s report to council, which will return with the amendments for final approval. The city will then seek registration of the amendments from the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs.

The hearing for the Cowan Heights plan is set for Nov. 4, as we reported earlier. The same Oct. 20 meeting also approved other projects, including new housing in two split votes.

More information is available from the city’s planning division at 709-576-6192 or [email protected]. A copy of the amendments can be viewed at the Planning and Development Division, fourth floor of the John J. Murphy building (City Hall Annex), weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The information comes from the City of St. John’s public notice and its Oct. 20 council meeting recap.

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