The future of the former tank farm site is now in the hands of the Yukon government.

At Tuesday evening's city council meeting, members voted 5-2 to reconsider their decision to hold off on an amendment of the Official Community Plan (OCP) that would allow for remediation of the property next to Hillcrest and Valleyview.

Once it was reconsidered, council again voted 5-2 to pass second reading of it with some changes. It now goes to Community Services Minister Elaine Taylor for approval before coming back to council for third reading.

Councillors Dave Stockdale and Betty Irwin held to their stance that the city should delay second reading of the OCP change until the remediation proposal had gone through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment (YESA) process and a decision document is issued on it.

"I think we should slow down this process,” said Coun. Dave Stockdale.

Proponents have brought forward a two- to five-year remediation process to develop residential homes on the site. It's expected the property could have anywhere from 500 to 800 housing units.

The OCP amendment would allow for temporary remediation on the site.

Developers have proposed a method that would see the contaminated dirt dug up.

After many Hillcrest residents called on council to postpone second reading of the OCP, council voted 4-3 to defer the matter until after the it goes through the YESA process rather than have them run concurrently.

Stockdale, Irwin and councillors Kirk Cameron and Dave Austin all voted in favour of the deferral.

Mayor Bev Buckway then brought forward her motion to reconsider the decision, arguing the two processes can happen at the same time.

"Let's get it back on track,” she urged her fellow council members.

Both Cameron and Austin noted in the two weeks since the initial vote to defer, they have gotten a better sense of the process and are confident there are "checks and balances” in place to ensure a proper reclamation.

Cameron noted he's spent a lot of time over the last two weeks with administration and now has a "far better handle” on the process.

He said it was his sense that if the city moved forward with second reading of the OCP change, it would help ensure the developer stays committed to the project.

Cameron also took issue with a comment from Stockdale, who had wondered "what sort of backroom” meetings went on in the last two weeks to change other council members' opinions.

Cameron said he "resented” the innuendo that there were any backroom meetings, noting that though he did meet with the developer once, he paid for his own coffee.

Austin too noted he has a lot more information than he did two weeks ago. There are enough provisions that will be in place through the many regulatory requirements that must happen – the OCP change, YESA, zoning and other permits, he said.

As Coun. Ranj Pillai pointed out, this was only second reading of the OCP amendment.

He noted there are many misconceptions about it, pointing out this is private property and, he noted, there are some who have passed on trying to get the tank farm site developed.

Pillai proposed – and council voted in favour of – adding two subsections to come forward with future stages such as the zoning.

They would require a bond from the developer and may require permit every two years for the remediation work.

The voting came after council heard from site owner Paramijit Sidhu and other delegates on the matter.

Sidhu noted the concerns Hillcrest residents have brought up. Many have questioned why there's such a wide range of time – between two and five years – for the project to be done.

Sidhu noted that the more crushers which can be brought in to work on the site, the faster the project will go.

For example, if only one crusher is permitted, it could take up to the full five years to do the work. If two can be used, it would take about 2 1/2 years and with three crushers, maybe only two years, he noted.

Sidhu also pointed out that a number of Hillcrest residents have said they don't want the land treatment to happen on the site.

To deal with that, he's discussed the situation with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and received permission to do the cleaning on their property rather than at the tank farm itself.

The developer also took issue with Hillcrest Community Association president Jean-Paul Molgat.

Sidhu argued he set up a requested meeting with the community, flying in consultants working on the project from Vancouver at a cost of $6,000. only to have Molgat not show up for the session.

Molgat explained later in the meeting (when he was speaking to another issue), he'd had only about 24 hours' notice about it and couldn't find a babysitter on such short notice.

Other representatives of the community association were there, he pointed out.

Heather Swynstun, a director with the association, was on-hand at last night's council meeting, asking that council stick with its "sound decision” of Sept. 24 and not look at moving forward with the OCP change.

Swynstun argued the city would be "putting the cart before the horse” by going ahead with second reading of the OCP before the YESA process has concluded. She questioned why other remediation methods weren't being considered.

"We want to understand the impacts,” she said.

Finally, Karen Baltgailis, the Yukon Conservation Society's executive director, addressed council on the matter.

If the city passes the OCP amendment before the YESA process is concluded, she said, it's "absolutely essential” that the zoning not go ahead without a restoration plan and other conditions such as a bond and the two-year permit.

Baltgailis said she differs in opinion from the community association in that she believes the more detailed conditions of the work can be dealt with at the zoning stage.

It's expected if the OCP amendment receives ministerial approval, it would come back to council for third reading in November.

With the municipal election slated for Oct. 18, it will be up to the next council to decide how the tank farm work proceeds from here.