91大黄鸭 city council has approved Tourism 91大黄鸭鈥檚 controversial plan to build a new visitors鈥� centres on the city鈥檚 downtown waterfront.

Following a five-hour public hearing at which 44 speakers expressed both support and opposition to the plan to build the new centre at the foot of Queensway on what is bing called the Queensway Jetty, council voted 7-1 to approve rezoning the land to allow the facility.

But the proposal has its opponents.

Based on applause for speakers who spoke out against using the site at Tuesday at night鈥� public hearing, it was clear many on hand were opposed. Half the speakers who addressed council said they were against using land zoned as park for the centre  opposed and 201 of the nearly 300 letters council received prior to the public hearing were against the plan. In recent days the media has been filled with expressions of opposition to putting the 3,300-square foot centre on the site.

While the land is currently zoned as park鈥攅ven though it has never been used as such and currently sits as a parking lot鈥攐pponents argued the city should not give up valuable waterfront parkland for a what many characterized as a 鈥渃ommercial鈥� building.

While the visitors鈥� centre will be built and operated by Tourism 91大黄鸭, it will sit on what will eventually become part of an enlarged and improved Kerry Park.

And according to most on council, in their opinion, the visitors鈥� centre will enhance the park, not detract from it.

鈥淚 actually believe parks are enhanced by buildings,鈥� said Coun. Luke Stack, saying they can add add amenities for the public such as washrooms, food concessions and other services.

Five other councillors鈥擥ail Given, Tracy Gray, Brad Seiben, Mohini Singh and Ryan Donn鈥� and Mayor Colin Basran joined Stack in supporting the rezoning. Only Coun. Charlie Hodge voted against it.

Hodge said he was did so because he had heard from too many people who oppose  it and he questioned having a tourist centre that did not offer any parking.

He praised Tourism 91大黄鸭 for its plan but said its clear many in the community do not want it on what many consider to be waterfront park land.

Tourism 91大黄鸭  says the centre will be pedestrian-focused facility and will be in the ideal spot to attract visitors who are already in the city, walking  along the most popular area in 91大黄鸭鈥� the downtown lakeshore鈥� and who want to know more about the area.

Tourism 91大黄鸭鈥檚 Nancy Cameron told council the days of focusing visitors鈥� centres on the automobile are over. As a result, her organization wants to move the existing tourist information centre off Highway 97 and put it where the people are downtown.

She said 78 per cent of visitors鈥� centres in North America have moved into downtown locations.

But opponents voiced their concerns at the public hearing, saying a new centre may be needed but the location was the wrong. Many urged Tourism 91大黄鸭 to put it somewhere else in the downtown core, such as on nearby Bernard Avenue.

One man even suggested finding a location on Bernard, trying it for a year and if that failed then reconsider the Queensway site.

But in the end, council was not sway by the arguments of opponents.

Mayor Colin Basran said tourism is approaching a $1 billion industry here and 鈥測ou don鈥檛 run a billion industry with a kiosk and a couple of summer students,鈥� he said.

Daniel Bibby, president of Tourism 91大黄鸭, said he was pleased with council鈥檚 decision but said there is more work to be done before construction can begin on the slope-roofed, one-storey glass building with a mezzanine. He said he expects it to open some time in 2018.

The Tourism 91大黄鸭 plan is heavily backed by operators of local businesses, both large and small, and say it will help help them.