A Kimberley Councillor feels designating the Marysville bench for industrial use is a premature decision.
Council earmarked the bench lands for industrial development Monday night.
Al Hoglund voted against the decision.
He feels the Official Community Plan has been discussed for over 18 months and should run its course.
“The process has been ongoing and the people are still having their say,” Hoglund says. “There’s lots of controversy over that site and I thought by bringing the motion forward before we even see the first draft of the OCP, it was totally out of line for the Mayor to do that.”
Hoglund says discussions around the OCP have been underway for 18 months, making the motion unnecessary.
“There’s going to be changes to the OCP, there always is. I just think it was too early in the process to bring a motion like that forward,” Hoglund says. “I think what it did is it puts in the minds of the people there that council has made up their mind and that’s how its going to be, which I think is wrong.”
The property has been zoned for industry since the 1970s, then set aside for residential development in 2005.
People have been using the undeveloped land for recreation for years, but an advanced technology company from Calgary is interested in expanding on the property.
– Kimberley City Councillor, Albert Hoglund
