Ocean Choice submits Land Use Impact Assessment Report as Requested by the Town of CBS

November 18, 2020

Ocean Choice submits Land Use Impact Assessment Report as Requested by the Town of CBS
The report contains extensive independent studies and expert opinions

For Immediate Release, St. John’s, NL – November 18, 2020: Late Monday, Ocean Choice submitted an extensive Land Use Impact Assessment Report (LUIAR) to the Town of Conception Bay South (CBS) for the Company’s proposed development in Long Pond Harbour. The Report is in response to the Town’s Municipal Plan Land Use Policy. In developing the Report, Ocean Choice engaged various independent experts and consultants, including specialized engineers in the field of marine and coastal planning; traffic assessment; environmental and geotechnical reviews; to name a few.

“For over two years, Ocean Choice has been working with the federal, provincial and municipal authorities to ensure our proposed development in Long Pond Harbour is subjected to the appropriate oversight and regulatory approvals,” says Blaine Sullivan, President, Ocean Choice. “Late yesterday, as part of the Town of Conception Bay South’s municipal process, we submitted an extensive response to the Town’s Terms of Reference for the Land Use Impact Assessment Report for the development. We believe this report will address outstanding questions relating to the development.”

The Town of Conception Bay South issued the Terms of Reference for the Land Use Impact Assessment Report to Ocean Choice on November 2, 2020. The Terms of Reference included a total of 21 questions, some of which had multiple parts. Ocean Choice understands that the final Terms of Reference reflects feedback provided to the Town from area residents through the Town’s public consultation process; as well input from an independent consultant retained by the Town was also incorporated into the final Terms of Reference.

Ocean Choice’s report is a culmination of several years of discussion and planning that started in 2013 following initial discussions with the Long Pond Harbour Authority (LPHA) about a proposed development in the area. In 2014 and again in 2017, the LPHA issued an Expression of Interest (EOI’s) for the development of the commercial area of the harbour. Following this process in 2017, Ocean Choice reengaged the LPHA on a proposed development for the area.

Since August, the company has held several meetings with interested parties including residential property owners and commercial businesses in the area, local business associations and government officials, to name a few. In addition, Ocean Choice has set-up a website where up-to-date information relating to the development has been posted. The site also provides interested parties with the ability to submit questions, which are then posted along with the answers to the site.

“Over the last several months we have been answering questions and addressing concerns related to the development from interested parties. This is something that we remain committed to doing,” says Sullivan. “While there are a few individuals who feel that we have not been responding quickly enough to questions, what they need to understand is that some of the answers to the questions being posed about the development required an independent expert opinion and report. These reports are now in-hand and submitted as part of the Land Use Impact Assessment.”

For more information pertaining to Ocean Choice’s proposed Long Pond Development and for a copy of the Land Use Impact Assessment Report, visit: https://oceanchoice.com/longpond

Next Steps
Ocean Choice, in partnership with the Town of Conception Bay South, will provide a formal opportunity for interested parties to ask questions and provide feedback relating to the Land Use Impact Assessment Report and the development. The public consultation will adhere to COVID-19 safety and health guidelines. Ocean Choice
encourages individuals who have questions to continue to submit them via the Company’s Long Pond website.

Quick Facts

• 30 to 40 new jobs created once the cold storage facility is operational.
• Millions of dollars in spin-off business opportunities for supply services in the area and economic benefit to other local businesses in the area and the potential relocation of people to the community.
• Approximately, $15 million in the start-up construction phase, creating local employment opportunities.

About Ocean Choice
Ocean Choice is a family-owned and operated Newfoundland and Labrador company that employs over 1,700 people in 300 communities throughout the province. The Company operates five fish processing plants and six offshore fishing vessels, and it sources seafood from over 1,900 independent fishers from across the province. With sales offices around the globe, the company sells a diversified range of seafood to over 400 customers in 30 countries around the world.

Media Contact
Cara Pike, Director, Communications and Marketing, Ocean Choice
C: +1 (709) 685-9290 E: cpike@oceanchoice.com

Backgrounder

On October 23, 2020, as a result of feedback from area residents as well as from the Navigable Waters Division of Transport Canada, Ocean Choice released an adjusted development plan that has resulted in the following:

•  Removed just over 32 ft. (10 m.) from the east side of the development, providing recreational boaters with an approximate 100 ft. (30.1 m.) marked channel for safe navigation. The channel will be as deep as the existing channel.
• Removed 78 ft. (24 m.) from the northeast side of the development, providing additional navigation on this side of the development.
• Moved the access road to the property back towards the southern portion of the Harbour – an area that is not currently being utilized due to shallow water depths.
• Changed the angle of the proposed wharf to provide additional clearance between Ocean Choice’s property and the adjacent property.

These changes to the development plan have resulted in Ocean Choice submitting a formal request to the Long Pond Harbour Authority (LPHA) to slightly revise the waterlot to accommodate moving the access road back towards the southern portion of the harbour. Ocean Choice is still awaiting confirmation from the LPHA on this
item; therefore the proposed development submitted by Ocean Choice in the Land Use Assessment Report is based on the project being developed within Ocean Choice’s existing waterlot. If Ocean Choice’s request to the LPHA is approved, the Company will move the access road to the southern part of the boundary of the new waterlot, as outlined in the above image.

The project is located on the southern portion of the Long Pond Port, off Terminal Road in an existing commercial area. Ocean Choice’s plan will see just over 1.7 hectares (17,228 m2) of new land developed that will house the following:

• 90-metre long marginal wharf;
• Laydown and parking area; and
• Cold storage building infrastructure (approximately 36,000 ft²).