'Right this wrong': Business owner says land rezoned without notice 22 years ago
A Moncton businessman is again calling on the city to reverse or fix a 22-year-old decision to rezone his company's property that he says was done without his knowledge.
Gary O'Dwyer says Unitex N.B. Co. Ltd. continues to struggle with the consequences of the city's decision to rezone the Highlandview Road property from light industrial to residential in 1996.
Banks won't provide financing since the building can't be used as collateral, he said. While the business can continue to operate on the land, it can't expand.
"What I would like is to move forward and right the wrongs," O'Dwyer said. On Monday, he went before city council seeking help.
The company with about a dozen employees manufactures fire resistant clothing for crews fighting forest fires.
The shop near Lewisville Middle School opened in 1987 when the area was zoned for industrial use.
O'Dwyer says he didn't see the city's newspaper ad about the rezoning in 1996. The ad was the only required notice at the time.
As the city reviewed its zoning plans in 2011, O'Dwyer again asked for restoration of the industrial zoning. Meeting minutes from 2012 show it was recommended to maintain the residential zoning. Plan Moncton, as it was called was approved in 2013 without a change.
O'Dwyer says he sought to make a formal objection to the plan.
"I waited for that and we continued working on the business, turning orders away, missing large contracts that would've definitely doubled our staff, and in 2017 I found out the formal objection had taken place three years prior and I was very disappointed," O'Dwyer said.
He says he's suffered large financial losses.
He's sold his home and has moved some of his belongings into the shop. His motorcycle is parked in the shop and other belongings are packed in a tractor trailer. He said he knows neighbours don't like the trailers beside their homes, but feels like he has no other options.
"It started in 1996," he said. "In 2011, the momentum didn't change. I wasn't interested in selling my house, but that's what transpired."
Family business
Unitex was started in 1976 by O'Dwyer's father, Jim in Nova Scotia.
It expanded to Moncton as the city's economy struggled in the 80s following the closure of Eaton's catalogue centre and then the CN shops.
Unitex has employed up to 23 staff, though that's down to 12 with automation and equipment.
His father's death in 2007 hit O'Dwyer hard and he decided to sell the business, but says he couldn't because of the zoning issue.
O'Dwyer proudly points out the company has received third-party quality management certification, known as ISO, and says it is one of the few companies specializing in clothing for the forest fire industry.
"I'm really disappointed," he told council. "I came here at a time when the city was looking for jobs and I didn't think there would be a time limit."
He hopes the city can work out a land swap in conjunction with economic development agencies.
Councillors voice support
Coun. Pierre Boudreau said at Monday's city council meeting that he wants the zoning changed.
"It's not going to harm the neighbours, it's not going to harm the neighbourhood," he said.
He said previous decisions made without the business were done "without natural justice" as O'Dwyer wasn't able to present his side. Boudreau said there's been a lack of proper response to O'Dwyer's requests.
Deputy Mayor Greg Turner also voiced support for O'Dwyer.
City 'working on this'
Marc Landry, the city manager, made no commitments Monday. He said the city "needs to keep working on this with the property owner."
He said the city's planning department is examining the issue and will be going into the city's archives to dig up relevant documents "so we can continue to dialogue."
Dawn Arnold, as a city councillor in 2012, suggested in an email the city consider a land swap with O'Dwyer. It's unclear what happened to the proposal.
Arnold, now the city's mayor, did not provide an interview or speak about the issue at the council meeting.
"I"m asking the city, council, everybody, to right the wrongs and let's move forward and resolve this," O'Dwyer said. "Let me create jobs, let me contribute to the economy."
