Area residents are considering what to do next after Guelph/Eramosa council approved the rezoning of around 26 acres of land on Jones Baseline just off Highway 7 east of Guelph.
The Monday decision by council clears the way for fridge and freezer manufacturer Minus Forty to build a new manufacturing plant, up to 264,000 square feet in size, at the site, which is currently occupied by farmland.
Jones Baseline Community Inc., a collective of neighbours formed in opposition to the project plans to meet with their lawyer and Wellington Water Watchers later this week to determine next steps, Jones Baseline resident Jillian Wood said Tuesday morning.
In a media release issued midday Tuesday, Wellington Water Watchers, who took on the Jones Baseline residents' cause earlier this fall, accused Guelph/Eramosa council of "betray(ing)" residents.
"Jones Baseline Community Inc. spent months raising awareness and flagging concerns about the potential environmental, health and safety threats posed by Minus Forty," the release said. "Mayor White and the majority of councillors ignored the concerns of the community."
Despite being zoned as agricultural up until Monday, the land Minus Forty wants to build on has been designated as "rural employment area" since 1995. In the release Wood said councillors "hid behind" that outdated designation.
"They showed little regard for the fact that this land would never be approved for this designation today given that it is bordered by a residential hamlet and a church," Wood said.
Meanwhile, while a report found the proposed facility did not pose a risk to the bedrock aquifer that supplies Guelph's water, it neglected to address potential impacts on the shallow aquifer that supplies local wells, putting Jones Baseline residents at risk, the release continued.
Appealing the council decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal is among the next steps Jone Baseline Community Inc. is considering, the release said.
