Charlottetown council votes to remove community fridge

The area near 46 Valley Street is pictured. (Source: Google Maps)

Charlottetown council voted nearly unanimously to remove a community fridge that’s been in place at a downtown parking lot for several years.

At a meeting on Tuesday, councillors voted 7-1 to not allow a site-specific exemption for the fridge adjacent to 46 Valley St. A previous committee report said the fridge had been at the location for roughly three years.

Last week the Charlottetown planning board voted to recommend to council it not allow the fridge to remain in the spot. The report cited “negative spillover effects and impacts” for a nearby child-care centre and issues with loitering and trespassing.

“The proposed accessory land use (community fridge) is not desirable for the appropriate development or use of the land within the Parking Zone (P) given the reported nuisances and impacts reported by neighbouring land owners on an ongoing basis,” the report reads.

The report noted several people attended a public meeting to express their thoughts on the fridge on July 17 and the city received 46 written responses supporting and criticizing it.

According to the report, supporters of the fridge generally noted it offers a convenient location for public transit users and provides a stigma-free, low-barrier option to address food security in the area.

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