The vote by council gives Ross Ventures the go-ahead to build the shopping centre on Two Nations Crossing with parking in the front of the building, rather than at the back, which is prescribed by the city's municipal plan for new developments.

Coun. Cassandra LeBlanc spoke against the proposal for this reason, before ultimately voting against it, along with Councillor Margo Sheppard.

"I disagree with this across our city and additionally, there's 118 additional parking spots being put into this development above and beyond the requirements of our bylaw," LeBlanc said.

"So I will never support an application that is creating a giant parking lot and is just a very antiquated model of grocery stores."

Councillor Cassandra LeBlanc voted against the Ross Ventures proposal, taking issue with the plan to build the parking lot at the front of the building. (Aidan Cox/CBC)

Ross Ventures says the proposed strip mall will house a grocery store, pharmacy, six commercial retail units and a drive-thru, with a total of 335 parking spaces between the building and Two Nations Crossing. The development will take up 6,178 square metres in area.

Speaking about the proposal in front of councillors two weeks ago, Ross Ventures president Jeff Yerxa said his company was left with little choice but to put the parking lot at the front of the building.

The first reason he gave was that the "large national tenants" he's dealing with dictate where parking should be, and to contest that could risk losing their business to other cities.

Ross Ventures's proposal includes a grocery store, pharmacy, six retail units and a drive-thru on Two Nations Crossing. (City of Fredericton)

"They have corporate standards that they don't want to divert from. They have a model, they know what works for them," Yerxa said.

He also said poor ground quality at the front of the site would have made it expensive to remedy in order to put a building on top of it.

Municipal plan has flexibility, says planner

Fredericton's municipal plan sets out guidelines for how neighbourhoods, commercial districts and industrial areas should be developed.

It calls for the creation of streetscapes that support walking and "enhance the public realm," and contains a provision that new developments be pedestrian-oriented by being located as close to the public street as possible, with parking at the back or rear of the building.

That guideline contradicts the previous few decades of development, which saw commercial buildings set back a distance from the street, with large parking lots in between.

Much of Prospect Street and Main Street exemplify that period of development, which the city is now trying to reverse.

Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's meeting, city planning director Ken Forrest said the municipal plan is flexible, and not all of its prescriptions — such as putting parking at the back of buildings — can be followed.

"The planned policy speaks to the fact that where appropriate, you know, we try and bring buildings up to the street," Forrest said.

"But Two Nations Crossing is primarily a suburban environment, where there are significant power transmission lines in that area and those things just can't be overcome."

Fredericton planning director Ken Forrest says the municipal plan has room for flexibility and provisions are to be followed in situations where 'appropriate.' (Aidan Cox/CBC)

Forrest also said he's not concerned about large corporations shaping how the city develops, adding there are some that have followed the guideline of building close to the street.

"I think the major retailers are responding and generally moving in the right direction," Forrest said.

"You can look at major North American retailers along Union Street and Main Street that have seen kind of what we're trying to accomplish, and they've supported that by making decisions to bring buildings tighter to the streets."