51 people attended a public hearing at a Niverville town Council meeting Tuesday evening to voice opposition to a proposed rezoning bylaw.

The bylaw, which was requested by the developer of Fifth Avenue Estates, would have seen 27 lots at the southwest end of Breckenridge Drive rezoned from single family residential to two family residential. Mayor Myron Dyck says first reading of the bylaw had already been completed which opened up the process to a public hearing.

"Tonight we had the presenter present the zoning bylaw change request. Those that wanted to speak in favour of it were given a chance to speak, those that had opposition to it were then given a chance to speak and after that was done council rendered a decision regarding second reading."

In addition to the 51 people in attendance who spoke in opposition, a 150 signature petition was presented to council calling for the rezoning bylaw request to be denied. Dyck says residents brought forward a variety of concerns.

"From the notes I took and from what I heard and I don’t want to speak for them, I am not speaking on their behalf, some concerns that were raised were around traffic, were around property values, and were around keeping neighbourhoods consistent as far as design and with the specs."

Many residents also noted they bought properties in Fifth Avenue Estates under the assumption that those lots would be sold as single family residential. Cheering could be heard from the crowd during many of the resident's presentations.

Dyck says for the bylaw to receive approval it would have needed second and third reading and as there was no motion to move forward with second reading from council, the request was denied. He adds council appreciates all of the feedback they received.

"We are here to serve the people and that means that we want to hear from them. We do appreciate when people come out and are willing to be a part of the process, that is very important to us. A lot of times, you wonder what people are thinking, you don’t know, sometimes it is hearsay, I have to say I am very appreciative whether people are speaking whichever side of a particular matter."

Rezoning proposed for the lots outlined in red