Parks and green spaces
Public parkland provides more value as the city densifies. It’s the shared back yard of homes that don’t have one of their own. We have to hold on to parks, and make them accessible to the public, to unlock that value.
Where I stand
Rockwood Park is one of the most important third places this city has. It is also the asset Saint John keeps trying to sell piece by piece. In February 2024, a 5-hectare parcel near Harrigan Lake was declared surplus on a 4-3 vote, with the item added to the agenda after the meeting began and three council members absent. A later motion passed 6-4 to halt the process, but the surplus designation was never formally rescinded. The parcel is still classified as surplus today.
The next year, J.D. Irving tried to rezone roughly a third of Wolastoq park for a 550-stall employee parking lot. City staff and residents opposed it. Half the council was on board. But Wolastoq is more than recreation: it is the buffer between heavy industry and the neighbourhoods around it, absorbing the sound, dust, smell, and light spill homes would otherwise carry. A parking lot does not do that.
The 2025 update to the land disposition policy did not fix this. The Surplus Land Inventory still gets approved behind closed doors. There is still no requirement for public notice before declaring land surplus. There is still no parkland classification with extra protection. The only new public-facing step is a 30-day posting on the city website after the political decision is already made. That is not public engagement. It is transparency theatre.
Parkland becomes more valuable as cities grow and get denser. It’s the replacement for back yards that people living in apartment buildings don’t have. Selling it for private development is short-sighted. Studies show the positive benefits of city green spaces on mental health. Even if it is just walking beside one, or waiting at a bus stop while looking at a tree. A city lot at the edge of the park might look useless now, but will be missed by our children or grandchildren. Especially if the selloff continues. Mandatory public hearings before any surplus declaration. A “parks and natural areas” classification with a presumption against disposition. A two-thirds recorded vote required for any park or recreational land sale.
The other half of protecting parks is making people care about them. A park that nobody uses is a park nobody will fight for. Investment in community to build and maintain trails, adding facilities that can host social enterprises builds the public constituency that keeps parks protected over centuries. A city park this big and rich in features is a treasure to cherish, and an opportunity to grow. The short-term revenue spike from a sale fades in a year. The loss is permanent.
What I will push for on council
- Parkland protection policy: mandatory public consultation before any surplus declaration, rezoning, sale, or long-term lease.
- Planning-stage screening so park items do not reach council on a rushed agenda.
- 30-day public notice and a public hearing before any surplus designation, not after.
- A “parks and natural areas” classification with a presumption against disposition.
- Two-thirds recorded vote required for any park or recreational land disposition.
- Invest in trails, programming, and facilities that build the public constituency that keeps parks protected.
- Will not support selling or parting out Rockwood Park or any other municipal parkland without a transparent process and a genuine case for public benefit.