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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - City councillor Mark Heyck won the first step in a long-standing battle Monday night to rezone Tin Can Hall as a parks and recreation site, blocking residential development in the area for the years ahead.

Karen Taggart was happy to hear the motion to rezone Tin Can Hill passed. Taggart wrote a letter to city council supporting the move to rezone the hill and is seen here Tuesday with her dog, Lola, a favourite spot for the two. - Lauren McKeon/NNSL photo

Council passed a motion Monday night, although not unanimously, to amend the zoning bylaw and to remove all references to the area from the 2004 General Plan as a spot for future residential development.

"We view this area as (one) we want to see preserved for the benefit of future Yellowknifers," said Heyck.

"I think it's important council sends this message very clearly."

Heyck listed several reasons for restricting residential development in the area, chief among them to keep a piece of wilderness in the heart of the city.

The hill area itself is 80 acres and is surrounded by 180 acres more of undeveloped land, said Jeff Humble, director of planning and lands.

"Any resident, free of charge, can find peace or serenity on top of Tin Can Hill," said Heyck.

"Tin Can Hill (is a) recreational facility that hasn't required a penny of investment on the part of the city," added Heyck, comparing the area to the oft-controversial fieldhouse development.

Presenter Vicky Johnston, another long-time proponent for saving the Hill, echoed many of Heyck's sentiments Monday evening at city hall.

"I've badgered city council about this idea for quite some time," she said, who figures her involvement in the push to keep the area has been ongoing since 2001.

Tin Can Hill is a place where any Yellowknifer can go to be "more or less by yourself," said Johnston, who has lived close to the hill for 17 years.

"There are not many places left in the country where you can do that," she added.

Johnston compared the dangers of developing the area to Niven Lake, which she called "a failure."

She wasn't the only one to slam the Niven Lake subdivision, of which only four lots have been sold in its latest phase of development, Phase VII.

"Tin Can Hill can't become another Niven Lake in my view," said Coun. Shelagh Montgomery.

Montgomery added she feels the city hasn't yet learned to design and plan for sustainable common areas.

Coun. Kevin Kennedy was another long-time supporter who voted in favour of the motion. He recalled a protest a few years back on top of the hill, in which supporters dressed up and waved signs declaring "no monster houses."

"(We shouldn't) reserve all the beautiful views strictly for those rich enough to afford them," he said.

Only Coun. David Wind voted against the motion, desiring to question administration further during committee. Coun. Lydia Bardak was not present.

Indeed, administration was able to provide little information at the time of the council meeting, including how much in dollars the land would have been worth if developed.

Ken Pearman, part-owner of Yellowknifer realtor Coldwell Banker, wasn't too surprised to hear it, saying the one-time potential property's worth depended on several factors, including what size, density and type of development would have been built there.

"It would be really hard to guess," he said.

Pearman added he was not sorry to see the land removed from development.

"I don't think it will have any effect at all. In fact I think it's probably a good thing to have a recreation area in or around the peripheral area of the city," he said.

"Stuff like raising taxes .... will have a bigger effect on the real estate market than creating a recreational area."

The motion is the first step in protecting the area. To go forward, a public hearing will be required, among other steps in the process, as administration must change the zoning bylaw now that the motion has passed.

"We've given administration six months (to change the bylaw)," said Mayor Gord Van Tighem, offering a cautionary point.

The last re-zoning, of a similar nature, took two to three years, he said.

"There are going to be some hoops to jump through."