Buffer zones: Time's up for unchecked industrial expansion

When heavy industry and residents collide, we all lose

Putting families right next to heavy industry was never a good idea, but fatal to the urban value proposition. Why aren’t we growing? Start here: respect for residents.

The pattern repeats itself in Saint John: industry expands, neighbourhoods retreat, another piece of our city vanishes. JDI's withdrawal from the Wolastoq Park rezoning came with a familiar complaint: "Saint John Council is placing unreasonable conditions on our ask."

Unreasonable? What's unreasonable is expecting residents to accept the steady erosion of neighbourhoods without protection. Without buffer zones.

Wolastoq Park matters. The Wolastoqiyik name means "the beautiful river" - a site significant for centuries, offering premier views of the Reversing Rapids. Indigenous history. Settler history. Our history.

Even more critically, the park currently serves as a natural buffer zone between heavy industry and the surrounding neighbourhood. JDI's proposal would remove this protective buffer, pushing industrial activity directly into a beloved residential area. City staff themselves acknowledged this, noting that if the parking lot were approved, "the park will no longer function as a buffer between heavy industry and the adjacent residential community."

Define buffer zones now - before the next expansion

We can't wait until after the next industrial disaster to protect our neighbourhoods. The time for clear, enforceable buffer zone legislation is now – before another inch of Saint John is sacrificed.

JDI has transformed entire neighbourhoods in recent years. When did residents have their say? Where are the protections ensuring industrial operations don't encroach further into residential spaces?

Pleasant City Street, 2018: Two incidents at the Irving refinery. First, an explosion injuring 36 workers. Then, a leaking butane pipeline forcing evacuations. This wasn't an isolated incident - a deadly explosion at the same refinery in 1998 killed a worker, and despite safety recommendations, the facility exploded again 20 years later.

The response? Irving bought and demolished 20 homes. A reactive buffer zone created after the damage. The penalty? A $200,000 CAD fine. That's it. 36 injuries and a neighbourhood erased for less than the price of a modest home.

And this pattern continues. The Irving Pulp and Paper mill has experienced multiple fires, including a "serious incident" in 2009 where a molten sulphur tank caught fire, leaking hazardous gases and forcing the evacuation of dozens of workers. Train derailments carrying hazardous materials like spin acid and molten sulphur have occurred repeatedly.

Without buffer zones, we're losing our city piece by piece.

Rejecting the "growth at all costs" false choice

The Chamber of Commerce claims Council's decision is "a test of Saint John's readiness to embrace growth." Their supporters call it "a terrible decision" because Council "doesn't understand what's necessary to help the city."

This rhetoric presents a false choice: unlimited industrial expansion or economic death. It's intellectually dishonest.

When Philip McGarvey asks, "don't the Irvings own that property?" he demonstrates exactly the oversimplified property rights argument threatening our city's future. Ownership doesn't grant unlimited rights to harm surrounding communities.

And let's be clear about who benefits. Despite the industrial footprint in our city, data shows that Heavy Industry contributes only 9% of the total property tax revenue while taking up significant space and creating substantial risks for residents. Residential taxpayers shoulder 63% of the burden while living with the consequences of industrial activity. Not ideology, not politics - that's the math.

The real choice isn't between industry or no industry. It's between responsible growth with buffer protections and quality of life improvements versus unrestrained expansion that sacrifices neighbourhoods. Our local Chamber members should know better.

The real costs of inadequate protection

The 2009 Conservation Council study found lung cancer rates in Saint John were 82% higher than national rates for women, 98% higher for men. "Chemical dusting" of neighbourhoods gets dismissed as normal while the province declares these releases "low risk." Ask residents living with these conditions if they feel safe.

We cannot continue to be the province's industrial dumping ground. Short-term industrial expansion without buffer protections creates long-term problems that cost more to address.

Pleasant City Street proves this – a crisis that could have been avoided with proper buffer zones from the beginning.

Look at Lorneville right now – residents are so worried about industrial plans near their homes that they've organized, put up placards, and are digging in for a fight. With proper buffer zone legislation, they could put their placards down, knowing their community has guaranteed protection. Their anxiety reflects the same concerns communities across Saint John share.

Every space converted to industrial use without buffer protection means lost housing potential, lost business opportunities, lost public spaces, and lost health. We're sacrificing both our city's future and our residents' wellbeing when we allow industry to operate without proper boundaries.

Mandated buffer zones: Non-negotiable protection

We need clear, enforceable buffer zone legislation that establishes permanent protection before any further industrial expansion is permitted. This isn't optional.

Our civic emergency services are already stretched, with the Saint John Fire Department providing emergency backup to industrial facilities like Point Lepreau Nuclear Station. Despite these formal arrangements, the city's fire resources must prioritize residential areas, highlighting the need for stronger preventative measures.

Buffer zone requirements must:

1. Define minimum distances between industry and homes

2. Require industry to maintain green buffer zones at their expense

3. Establish air and water quality monitoring in buffer areas

4. Create transparent violation reporting

5. Implement meaningful penalties for violations

Buffer zones aren't anti-industry – they're pro-community.

The real stakes: Our city is disappearing

This isn't anti-industry posturing. It's about protecting our city's future with proper buffer zones.

The Fire Department assessment is blunt: "The city of Saint John is 3 industrial cities merged into one... unlike any other community in the province."

The Simms brush factory is gone – a historic building leveled for parking. No buffer zones protected this heritage.

The real choice isn't between industry or no industry. It's between responsible growth with buffer protections versus unrestrained expansion that sacrifices neighbourhoods.

Some existing industrial operations can be grandfathered in, but we must draw the line now. No more unfettered expansion without proper buffers. Our city is dying away fast, and each neighbourhood lost is gone forever.

Time to act: Protect Saint John now

Council's role isn't rubber-stamping land use changes based solely on ownership. Their job is protecting citizens with clear buffer zones between industry and homes.

One resident's warning should echo: "Once something is gone, it's gone forever." Without buffer zone protection, we're losing our city piece by piece.

Today it's a park becoming a parking lot. What's next? Which neighbourhood loses its protective buffer zone? Which potential development site becomes industrial wasteland?

Contact your councillor today. Support creating meaningful buffer zone legislation. Our neighbourhoods need protection now – before another Pleasant City Street disaster proves we waited too long.

The buffer zones we establish today will protect Saint John's future. Without them, we're just waiting for the next industrial expansion to erase another piece of our city.