By Mark Squibb | Vol. 7 No. 5 (March 13 2019)
One of the people leading the charge against the City’s development scheme for Kenmount Hill is appealing to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for a full investigation into Mount Pearl City council’s decision to approve amendments that would pave the way for the development.
“I am not a lawyer, but it appears that council's actions are both incorrect and unreasonable and in breach of its duty of procedural fairness under the law, and I respectfully request that you investigate,” said Bonnie O'Rourke in a public letter addressed to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment, Graham Letto.
In the letter, which was e-mailed to the media on Monday, O’Rourke claims that council violated a number of articles in the Urban and Rural Planning Act 2000, that councillors failed their duty of due diligence by deciding not to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment into the scheme, and that they published flawed traffic impact estimates, based on a low density simulation model.
A representative of the City of Mount Pearl said Tuesday the City council had not yet had time to review the nine-page letter, and therefore could not comment at this time.
The representative said that City Council actually did not receive a copy of the letter.
The Kenmount Development Scheme, which will see the land rezoned as mixed density to include new homes, stores, and conservation areas, has meet with criticism from a group of residents on Kenmount Hill since it was first proposed in April, 2018.
