St. John's city council voted Monday night on a plan for wetland protections at the Galway development in a decision that's left environmentalists — and some councillors — concerned for the future.

According to the city, development above 190 metres elevation was prohibited prior to Galway, and to allow the developers to build in the area, the city required a wetlands study before work could begin.

The developer, Danny Williams's Dewcor, commissioned engineering firm Stantec to complete a study, which was submitted to the city in 2013.

The city said a second study was later submitted by the developer in 2014 that proposed "altering areas of the wetland to allow for more developable land."

A map of the delineated wetland (blue), as compared to the altered area proposed by the developer (pink). (City of St. John's)

Council's decision on Feb. 25 came in choosing between the two reports, with council voting 7-4 in favour of the 2014 report. City staff had recommended council protect the entirety of the wetland as laid out in the 2013 report.

Ward 4 Councillor Ian Froude voted for the 2013 study. He says the key difference between the two reports is the 12 hectares of wetland omitted from the later report.

"Wetlands play a crucial role in keeping carbon in the ground, these sorts of decisions are the front line in addressing climate change," said Froude.

"I felt the protection of 12 hectares in the grand scheme of things was an easy choice at the end of the day — to protect that — given the scale of the development in general."

St. John's Councillors Maggie Burton and Ian Froude both voted in favour of the 2013 wetland delineation. (Paula Gale/CBC)

Councillor Maggie Burton also voted for the earlier report, claiming that the 2014 plan was too focused on expanding development rather than preserving wetland areas. She said protecting wetlands is an environmental policy and legislative obligation of the city.

"Wetlands are really important … I'm really concerned [about] what this means for future developments in the city," said Burton.

"I don't want the city to proceed in a direction that involves other developments being able to trim what they think is the unimportant parts of the wetland, or the fringes or the edges."

I'm unhappy that we've gone through this process. - Ian Froude

Burton says while storm water detention ponds will be put in place as part of the development, they may not suffice with changing weather due to climate change, meaning more ponds will be needed — on the taxpayer's dime.

Froude said to prevent any issues in the future, a new wetland study is in the works, with an RFP for the project coming soon.

"I'm unhappy that we've gone through this process. Ideally we would have had a delineation previously, and that's what we're trying to do in getting ahead of doing a wetland study for the rest of the city, so that we get ahead and cement that in the development regulations," Froude said.

St. John's Mayor Danny Breen says he made his decision on the two wetlands reports based on fairness. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

Mayor Danny Breen voted in favour of the 2014 report, accepting the advice of the city's environmental advisory committee.

Breen said because of uncertainty and miscommunication between the city and Dewcor, work had already been done on the development, including building infrastructure and marketing land, and it would only be fair to allow that work to continue.

"There was confusion between the staff and the developer, going back to 2013 … because of the confusion, I felt it was a fair decision to go with the 2014 delineation," said Breen.

But the mayor said he's not putting a developer's interests ahead of the environment.

I, personally, since I have been on council, have treated all developers fairly and listened to their concerns and made my decisions based on fairness. - St. John's Mayor Danny Breen

"I think anybody that's looked back at, since I've been mayor, our history with the developer — and there has been issues — would see that we're not giving any favouritism to a developer," said Breen.

"I, personally, since I have been on council, have treated all developers fairly and listened to their concerns and made my decisions based on fairness."

'Questionable' rationale

Environmental group Northeast Avalon Atlantic Coastal Action Program released a statement in advance of the vote, calling for the city to accept the 2013 wetland delineation.

Piers Evans, the group's project coordinator, said the the 2013 report is "extensive," while the 2014 report has "questionable" rationale.

Evans said developers found a loophole in the city's wetland policy.

"The wetland policy protects wetlands that were [previously] mapped, and wetlands that were above the 190 metre contour line were never really proposed or accessible for development," he said.

Piers Evans, project coordinator with the Northeast Avalon Atlantic Coastal Action Program says Galway's developers are taking advantage of a loophole in the city's policies. (Paula Gale/CBC)

"We have this odd scenario here where this wetland is exposed, the city policy doesn't cover it … now there's this technicality that allows this wetland to be exposed to development."

Evans said the 2014 plan sacrifices wetlands in exchange for areas of forest cover.

"The problem is that this compensation doesn't really work out," he said.

"The ecosystem services provided by wetlands and the ecosystem services provided by forest habitat are not equivalent."

A 'preservation model'

Dewcor CFO Craig Hippern, meanwhile, said the company is committed to preserving the natural environment in and around Galway.

He said the company used nationally-recognized best practices and engaged three different experts to identify the areas to be preserved, then tailored the the original survey to create a natural protected area with added trees and shrubs.

The Galway plan … is a preservation model for other developments in the city, and in fact the province. - Craig Hippern

"It creates a wide, fully-connected and protected area, and that helps support — much more so than the irregular shape of the original wetlands," Hippern said.

"It supports the pollination of plants and the movement of animals and is safe refuge for nesting birds and things of that nature. We've had a nationally renowned ecological expert [state] that the Galway plan, the revised plan and providing these buffers, is a preservation model for other developments in the city, and in fact the province."

Galway Boulevard, in the Galway development of St. John's (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

Hippern said Dewcor will protect a 170 acre wetland area and has spent millions of dollars to protect natural areas and wetlands.

He said the company has also worked closely with the city to put in services to Galway, and that one small edge of the the wetland was used for trunk sewer, in accordance with the 2014 report.

Hippern said it is important to consider the work of the environmental experts his company has consulted with, and he's hopeful council sees the benefits of the development.

With files from the St. John's Morning Show

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