The Sarnia Police Service (SPS) is planning to build its new police headquarters on a parcel of land located on the north side of the Sarnia Business and Research Park, southeast of Old London Road.
A motion to set aside approximately 11.7 acres of land passed in a 6-3 vote during Monday's council meeting.
In April, Sarnia council agreed to allocate 15 acres of land for a new police facility at the north or south end of Wellington Street, within the business and research park.
After reviewing multiple city-owned land options and consulting with an architect, the SPS identified its preferred site at the north end of the property.
The parcel of land, serviced from London Line, was declared surplus in 2023.
"Our feeling was that it met the requirements for what we needed, but it also wouldn't hamper or disadvantage the city in terms of their future economic interests," said Sarnia Police Service Board Chair Paul Wiersma during Monday's council meeting.
John Pepper of RPL Architects Inc. said the space would allow for future growth, would meet parking needs, and allow for a secondary egress through Alexi Drive so police vehicles would not be restricted to only using an entrance off of Old London Road.
"We're also not using all of the site. There's a portion of it that has been put aside pending further analysis of the wetlands through that area," Pepper said. "Also, it would be prudent to allow some space for future horizontal expansion, which is likely to be the least costly approach should the building need to be made larger in future decades."
Police Chief Derek Davis stressed the need for a new headquarters because the current site does not meet policing needs.
"It does nowhere near meet the standard of how a modern police service operates," Davis said. "We drive to Chatham to do rifle training, which rifles didn't exist for police in 1987 when it was built and now they're required by legislation."
Mayor Mike Bradley noted the impact this type of project would have on the city's budget.
Pepper told council the current estimated cost is approximately $81 million, based on a need for a building of just over 98,000 square feet.
Wiersma said they hope to bring the financial aspect back to council as part of the upcoming budget process.
"The specific issue today is we're asking council about the allocation of this property," Wiersma said. "What we want to be able to do is move ahead with land development studies to ensure that it actually will work. So that involves consultation with the Ministry of Transportation and so on."
City/County Councillor Chrissy McRoberts asked if the project could be done in phases.
Wiersma said the board had approved a phased-in facility and the training facility has already been highlighted as a priority.
"We see it happening over -- we had said initially three phases, but of course, that is subject to the decision of the architects, and the decision of the board, and as I said, this will all have to go through the budgetary process of council as well," Wiersma said.
He also reminded council that when the police service vacates the current facility on Christina Street, although it's not functional for policing services, the property will still be a valuable city-owned asset.
Mayor Bradley and Councillors David Boushy and Terry Burrell voted against the land acquisition.