Third reading granted for 880 Guay Road rezoning after fourth try at public hearing

On the fourth try, the public hearing regarding 880 Guay Road was completed at this week’s Prince George City Council meeting.

The public hearing was previously cancelled three times.

The hearing was originally scheduled for the Council meeting on December 16th, however, the City was unable to confirm delivery of notices due to the Canada Post Strike, and cancelled the hearing “to ensure procedural fairness”.

The hearing was then rescheduled for the January 13th Council meeting, but it was cancelled again. According to a City Spokesperson, the applicant did not update the signage notice on the property, which stated the date of the public hearing to reflect the new public hearing.

The hearing was rescheduled for the February 5th Council meeting, but was cancelled part way through after City Staff identified an issue with the bylaw.

“A mapping error on Appendix A to Bylaw #9513 was noted, the error consisted of an OCP land use designation that was inconsistent wit the proposed zone being considered under Bylaw #9514,” Director of Planning and Development Deanna Wasnik explained.

The applicant is hoping to rezone the subject property for a mix of general industrial uses, allowing Tyrod Industries to relocate there and expand their business operations.

Two residents of the area used the opportunity to share their concerns.

Sam Broadfoot brought up several concerns she had brought up at the previous public hearing that was cut short.

“The road infrastructure in this area is critically inadequate, Guay Road particularly, at the intersection of Highway 16, is a disaster waiting to happen,” she said.

“It is far too narrow to accommodate large trucks, cranes, and other heavy equipment safely. The road lacks shoulders, which forces vehicles to drive dangerously close to the edge. The design of the intersection is flawed, unable to handle the volume or type of traffic proposed, and there are no traffic controls to manage the flow, making this an accident prone zone. The road’s steep grade and narrow lanes, especially in the winter, create hazardous conditions for trucks, increasing the chances of accidents like jack-knifing. The lack of proper snow removal and maintenance only exacerbates these dangers. Additionally the powerlines along Guay Road hang too low, posing a severe threat to tall loads, a simple accident could lead to catastrophic failure of these powerlines and potential loss of life.”

Greg Heck voiced other concerns.

“The City might benefit financially from the rezoning of 880 Guay Road, but the value of our residential properties in the area will have the opposite effect,” he said.

“Having a general industrial facility in such close proximity will lead to an undesirable choice for people wanting to purchase our houses in the future. This is especially true as the years go by and the owners of 880 Guay Road continuously expand. There isn’t another area in the city that has residential, mixed with public municipal park, L.C, Gunn Park, a very busy snow dump, and a proposed general industrial facility. It is in my best estimates that this continuous interaction will push away any potential buyers for the properties on Guay Road.”

Heck also spoke on the dangers of the stretch of Highway 16 near the property.

Councillor Garth Frizzell was appreciative of Broadfoot and Heck’s concerns.

“The presentation, the homework, the effort that you went through to bring forward those messages has been heard,” he said.

“We are going to be receiving a traffic impact study before final reading, I think you got the message that there will be all eyes on it. I’m going to be supporting the third reading, but I think this has brought to light some important issues.”

Council gave third reading, with Mayor Simon Yu and Councillor Brian Skakun opposed. Council will vote on final reading and adoption at a later date.