Belleville council has reversed a decision made by the previous council.
During the last term, council voted to buy over eight acres of land where the former Bakelite plant once stood along the bayshore east of Herchimer Avenue to protect it for public use of a future trail system near wetlands.
The cost to the city was $3 million.
With the exception of Tyler Allsopp everyone on council agreed with Councillor Paul Carr who has always said the natural land and pond would be protected without the city buying land.
“If there’s development occurring they’re (developers) going to require areas for a storm water management pond that would become de facto city property and then the wetlands are already regulated so us taking ownership of them doesn’t protect them any more than they’re already protected.”
The property owners are planning a housing development on the property away from the the pond and the bayshore.
