The Board of the Sarnia and District Humane Society is pleading for city council to support its bid to purchase a plot of land in Centennial Park, which may soon become available.
Sarnia City Council will be asked on Monday, June 22, to declare 2.14 acres of land, currently leased to the humane society, as surplus.
The site was previously considered for the development of a new animal shelter in 2022, but the proposed project didn't proceed as planned.
"In 2022, when the city offered us adjacent land strictly under a lease agreement, the board and our major donors made a difficult but compassionate decision: it would not be responsible to invest $10 million in community funds to build a state-of-the-art facility on land we do not own," read a media release from the humane society, posted to social media on June 16. "This mandate for permanent land ownership is what led us to the Wellington Street property."
The humane society purchased five acres of land across from the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park in 2023. However, it turned into a legal matter after concerns were raised about the Development Area 2 Secondary Plan.
"We want to reassure our supporters that the subsequent $1 million legal settlement regarding the Wellington Street property was not a standard property sale or an attempt to make a profit," continued the humane society's statement. "We purchased that land in good faith, only for the city to later alter its infrastructure plans for a municipal roundabout, making our shelter project impossible."
The board stressed the importance of the Centennial Park area and how it's the most "logical place for the animals and community."
"Our shelter is woven into the very fabric of Sarnia-Lambton. When people walk through our doors, they see the tireless dedication of staff and volunteers who treat every animal like family. We owe it to them, to our incredible donors, and, most importantly, to the animals in our care, to protect this legacy," said Sarnia and District Humane Society Board Chair Bob Farlow. "We are not just building a structure; we are securing a permanent, safe, and loving future for animal welfare in our community. That is why we are fighting so hard to make sure our new home is built on a foundation of absolute fiscal responsibility and emotional permanence."
Initially, when Mayor Mike Bradley spoke to Sarnia News Today about the council agenda matter, he said the city would follow the standard process.
"We are following our public process. If we declare lands surplus, if council does that, then others can then bid on that land too," Bradley said. "We cannot move away from that land disposal policy, which we've had for years, for very legitimate reasons, to keep integrity and openness."
Over the years, there has been interest in the land, specifically by affordable housing developers. But, Bradley agreed, the humane society provides a lot of value to the community.
"They've had tremendous growth after COVID and the pandemic," he said. "We want to assist them, we want to help them and we want to get them to a better place, but we need to follow our own public policy on land disposal."
On June 17, Bradley submitted a notice of motion to the clerk for the Sarnia and District Humane Society to be given First Right of Refusal if the land is declared surplus.
Whether or not a pending Minister's Zoning Order request from Cargill Limited would affect plans for a new animal shelter remain unknown.
