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Witless Bay residents vote in favour of half-acre lot sizes

Close to 500 residents of Witless Bay voted in a plebiscite on Thursday over the size of residential lots in the town.
Witless Bay, on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. (Google Maps)

Close to 500 residents of Witless Bay voted in a plebiscite on Thursday.

People in the town have been divided over a decision regarding the size of future residential lots.

On Thursday, the vote overwhelmingly went in favour of Version A, which would give residents the option of having properties that are a half-acre in size.

331 people voted for that option, while 142 choose Version B, which would have meant residential lots would have to be at least one acre.

Those in favour of the larger lots argued that requiring the full acre would ensure that residential wells would be protected, and that each household would have enough water.

Despite that, voters favoured the smaller lot option, and the Department of Municipal and Intergovernmental Affairs said Witless Bay will now move forward with adopting the plan as a policy.

However, before that happens a public hearing will be held to get input from residents and interested parties.

The results of Thursday's vote are as follows:

  • Version A (half-acre lots) -  331
  • Version B (one-acre lots) - 142
  • Spoiled ballot - 1