Stratford city council asks province to rescind controversial glass factory MZO
City council voted 9 to 2 to ask province to roll back a minister's zoning order
Stratford city council has voted to formally ask the province to rescind a controversial minister's zoning order (MZO) that critics charge subverted local democracy when it cleared legal hurdles for a Chinese glassmaker to build a $400-million factory.
The nine to two vote happened Monday night, a month after Xinyi Canada announced it would suspend its float glass manufacturing facility proposal on the city's southern rim.
When the company suspended its plans for the facility in February, it issued a sharp rebuke of both Stratford city hall for its delays and grassroots opposition groups for their "overt hostility."
Xinyi's proposal to build a float glass manufacturing facility would have made Stratford the heart of its North American glass manufacturing operations and would have meant hundreds of jobs for the community.
However, distaste for the kinds of tactics used by city and provincial politicians to fast-track the factory's construction and concerns over potential greenhouse gas emissions from the plant, ultimately soured public support of the project.
Council voted Monday to ask to province to revoke the MZO, which would allow the city to rezone the land for other potential projects. As it stands, the land cannot be used for anything else.