The forested hills surrounding St. John’s are one of this City’s most defining characteristics. Wide swaths of viable land at lower elevations exist to support the rapid growth in recent and future years. While hill-top vistas certainly demand top dollar and profits for developers and real-estate proponents, the consequence of building a structure from which one can see the whole City, is that the whole City can see you.

Replacing the natural, green, forested hill-tops that surround the City with developed real-estate will erode a significant contributor to St. John’s beauty, character, and brand. Rather than supporting the current atmosphere of a collection of communities, removal of such visual boundaries will irreversibly move St. John’s towards repeating the urban sprawl mistakes of past municipalities' hasty planning during a development boom.

City Council has adopted St. John’s Municipal Plan Amendment Number 69, 2012 and St. John’s Development Regulations Amendment Number 457, 2012 on Jan 16, 2012 to lift restrictions on development above 190m in the hills in the Kenmount Road Area. This is the third such exception Council has adopted in the City to lift protections of areas above 190m (for example, areas in the Southlands and Paradise now have residential areas above 190m).

We, the undersigned, support Smart Growth and responsible urban development for St. John's, especially during this time of rapid expansion. We support the preservation of green spaces and wilderness areas within the City, especially the most visible and vital contributors to our city's brand and beauty - the forested hills surrounding the City. We are in favour of the land protections in place for altitudes over 190m, and are opposed to the Amendments removing or making exceptions for these protections.  

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