Kevin O'Reilly

"I just would not be able to live with myself if I went ahead with what's being proposed in the bylaw," O'Reilly said. "It's become terribly confused, intertwined with a vague development proposal -- we don't even know what the physical footprint of it is."

At O'Reilly's urging an additional study was done on the project, ensuring that there would be no casino on the site, and that the zoning surrounding the commercial site was changed from parks and recreation to nature preservation -- much more restrictive.

"I regret the fact it wasn't made public first, and that it's only coming to the public now. I think we'll probably take some flack for that."

Land rezoned for housing, nature preserve

Last September a public meeting was held about developments at Twin Pine Hill. The southern tip including most of the old Bartam Trailer Park to be zoned Old Town mix, and much of the central corridor would be left as a nature preserve.

The northern tip of the hill would be rezoned R3 or multi-family residential. The central part would be zoned as commercial, opening the door for Sihka Developments, who want to build a $25 million, 160-room resort and convention centre.

The concerns raised by the public at that meeting were dealt with by council, and all 27 rulings were argued over on Monday night.

Coun. Ben McDonald agreed there are flaws. "The process that was followed was murky at best," he said. "But it is fair."

Coun. Blake Lyons said despite the process, it was still a positive exercise. Without a development plan, the scenic Twin Pine Hill area may never be enjoyed to the full by the public.

"We had no assurance we'd have access to this area. We listened to the public. We also listened to the people who needed affordable housing."

Coun. David McCann said while the process was less than ideal, "we've handled it well."

Tourism, the new economy in 20 to 30 years, will blossom with a conference centre such as the one being proposed, he added.

"I felt this process was flawed," Coun. Wendy Bisaro said, adding that the fact the GNWT owns the land didn't make matters any easier.

But Bisaro praised O'Reilly's tenacity.

"He made us think twice," she said.