Lunenburg Town Council voted unanimously to seek further information on any tax implications for residents from the potential development options for Blockhouse Hill at their latest meeting.

Subsequently, they decided to delay voting on declaring the land surplus until that information was compiled.

Those decisions arose following discussions over draft motions regarding the development originally proposed in the meeting agenda as item 10.1 (see below).

10.1 Blockhouse Hill Visioning Report and Design Options

Draft motion: That Council direct Staff to work with MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Ltd. on drafting development rules based on Design Option 2: Out of Sight.

Draft motion: That Council declare the land identified in Attachment A surplus and no longer required for Town purposes.

Draft motion: That Council direct Staff to hold a Public Information Meeting regarding selling the surplus land identified in Attachment A for residential development.

The decision to seek further information on tax implications was deemed necessary before council could reasonably move forward.

The final report on development options was also formally presented to council, after having been released publicly earlier this month.

The land in purple was suggested to be declared surplus for development on Tuesday by town staff. Photo: Town of Lunenburg.

The first motion of 10.1 passed following an amendment to proceed with work on development rules for Design Option 1: Town Square which is the largest in scale of all proposed development options.

Design Option 1: Town Square is the largest in terms of size, housing units and estimated cost. Photo: Town of Lunenburg/MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects.

In doing so work can continue on the regulations that would govern the development of the Town Square option. Those regulations could then be amended should it or any of the smaller development options be approved to proceed.

Ultimately no firm commitments to the project were made at Tuesday’s meeting and questions remain on whether the project could jeopardize the town’s UNESCO heritage designation. Which has consistently been something many residents, and Mayor Jamie Myra have said they’re unwilling to jeopardize.

The issue is expected to be revisited by council in March, pending the information on tax implications being available at that time.