A proposal for school children to help clean up an empty lot led to a heated debate at the Lantzville council meeting on Wednesday, March 6.
The motion was for district staff to develop a work plan and agreement with Seaview Elementary School to restore 7101 Stevens Place to a natural park space, have city staff remove all the invasive blackberry bushes. It also included allocating $2,500 to purchase native plants and rezoning the property as a park.
However, an amendment by Lantzville councillor Ian Savage, removed the $2,500 in funding from the motion, adding instead that council would consider a future request for funding.
“It's a momentum killer,” said Mayor Swain after the amendment passed 3-2. “We've had a group come in, they want to do this work, and now we're putting roadblocks in the way. I might say I'm a little bit upset about it actually.”
The motion as amended passed unanimously.