Nanaimo's Forested Land Rezone Debate

0:00The NIMO folks are divided over a push to rezone 86 hectares of forested land near Cedar for industrial use. Harmac Pacific wants to turn most of it into factory space while setting aside 11 hectares as a park buffer next to the popular Cable Bay Trail. City staff back the plan, saying it'll create jobs and that environmental risks can be handled with strict conditions. The lands currently zone rural resource north of Cedar at 950 Phoenix Way, right by highways, dew point and deep water docks, prime spot, for business. Harmac built that trail back in 1990 and plans to expand the park area four times over. The proposal passed first and second readings back in March. Residents are fired up, packing hearings that have stretched into a third week with gears flying both ways. Some worry it'll recondangered ecosystems and wildlife habitats, even with the buffer. The snoony muckst w First Nation calls for pause, citing treaty rights from 1854 and unfinished

1:00consultations on their traditional. Gathering spots, Harmac C. Yale says they're not rushing, working with the First Nation to sort concerns and eyeing job heavy spots like a sawmill or greenhouse, no data. Centres, he blasts the process as hijacked by outsiders in self-interested locals who downplay the need for work, hearings resume Thursday at 7pm at the Shaw Auditorium as council balances economic boosts against irreplaceable nature eyes on what comes. Next for this island hotspot, that's your update from Canada News Today, powered by AI.