Louise English is concerned for her neighbourhood.
She’s not alone.
A petition has been circulating for the last two weeks asking the City of St. John’s to block an application from Premiere Suites to expand their properties at 22 St. Joseph Lane, near her home near the base of Signal Hill.
The plan calls for a rezoning of land from residential to an apartment medium density zone to allow an expansion of an existing apartment unit with 14 more dwellings.
Premiere Suites has hired Fougere Menchenton Architecture to help with the expansion, which would see medium-term rental properties built into the area.
In an application presented to city hall in May 2017, the architecture firm says the plan will “blend seamlessly” into the area. The apartments will be built in a traditional two-story rowhouse style, with underground parking included in the plan.
English moved into the neighbourhood in the last year, but her husband has lived in the area for over 15 years.
She says she’s not opposed to development in the area, but she’s worried about what the rezoning could mean in the future.
It’s clear the developers have studied the city regulations in their application, with multiple references to legislation to ensure conformity with regulation. A letter from Premiere Suites Atlantic president Suzanne Bachur specifies no snow will be pushed onto municipal property once the development is complete.
“It looks beautiful on paper, no doubt,” said English.
“But once the zone is changed, they can change their mind. They can go six-stories up. Another developer could come in. Where do they stop?”
There’s nothing in the current application before council to suggest any potential change of plans from the developers, but it’s the what-ifs that worry English.
The group has formed the Signal Hill Neighbourhood Association. At The Telegram’s Friday deadline, the group’s petition was approaching 1,900 signatures from people around the city.
English says another concern is that more and more of the houses in the area are becoming rental properties and not personal dwellings. She says with less permanent residents, she’s worried the neighbourhood could lose its culture.
“The thing about Signal Hill and the Battery, we’re very much a community, very proud. That’s why we’re living here. We love the area, even though there are issues with noise and parking and snowclearing,” said English.
“We love progress and we love developers and we love to have them in our city, but can we trust them to stick to what they said?”
The group has been meeting with councillors one-on-one for the last week, but English says there’s no telling what the final decision will be on the matter.
The Signal Hill Neighbourhood Association will soon be registered with the city as a community organization. English says without the co-operation of all the residents, their voices wouldn’t be heard quite so loudly.
“We have to keep it alive,” she said.
“It’s really awesome that we’ve connected more, as a community. You really feel more a part of where you live.”
A meeting about the development is expected in the coming week.
Twitter: DavidMaherNL