Sarnia councillors aren't completely sold on the idea of using land surrounding the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park for new housing.
The area, from south of London Line to Confederation Line and Modeland Road east to Blackwell Side Road, has been identified to accommodate an expected population boost of 14,000 people over the next 30-years.
Councillor Mike Stark wondered if consultants were putting the "cart before the horse," especially when the city is looking at diversifying from the petrochemical industry.
"Seems to me that we need to be able to accommodate the development of jobs, and housing is a direct result of the developing jobs coming on stream," said Stark. "From my perspective, I'm a little concerned that we're potentially going to look at taking too much of the development plans around the western research park and thinking longer term about the new economy that this area is going to need."
Mayor Mike Bradley believes the research park land may become quite desirable to Lambton College.
"I see the opportunity to develop, across Modeland, another campus of Lambton College, onto that land towards where the research park is," said Bradley. "We didn't buy this land to be a developer's dream, just to turn around and turn it over to develop subdivisions. That was not the principle and I have checked with some of the key people involved in that purchase and they endorsed that we do not do that, for that reason, and I realize that times change, but I am not seeing when we do have other places."
Councillor Bill Dennis, a former realtor, felt it would be more suitable to open the Bright's Grove area up to accommodate future growth.
"Bright's Grove is clearly one of the most single, desirable, sought after locations in Lambton County, any expert in the field will tell you this, and this quite often is the place where many people want to live," said Dennis. "By not opening up this area, it's almost akin to having Michael Jordan and LeBron James in their primes on your basketball team and not letting them play. We are leaving our best on the bench. We are competing in a very competitive market for prospective purchasers that have options. We can not afford to sit our star players out."
Consultants have projected Sarnia's population will jump from just over 74,000 to nearly 89,000 by 2051.
The growth management review was presented during Sarnia's corporate priorities/strategic planning meeting on Monday.
It is one part of the city's draft official plan that's expected to be ready for public input later this year.