The District of Lantzville is moving their public works department from Metro Rd. to Lantzville Rd. as a temporary measure until they're able to secure a permanent location. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

public works on the move

‘A concern to staff:’ Lantzville moving their public works department due to issues with leased building

Jun 28, 2025 | 6:07 AM

LANTZVILLE — The public works department in Lantzville is on the move.

In a recent news release, the District of Lantzville said their current leased public works building at 6833 Metro Rd. can no longer meet their “operational requirements” and is moving to a District-owned property at 7099 Lantzville Rd. as a temporary measure.

Speaking at the June 11 regular council meeting, director of public works Glenn Morphy said the building has several issues which need to be addressed.

“We have accessibility issues, it’s not very accessible. The main shop lacks a…secondary fire exit, and fire suppression is non-existent at all, which alarms me as we have a lot of accelerants and we have no fire suppression. The mezzanine is not building code compliant and lacks fire suppression and secondary exit.”

He said the landlord requested they move as soon as possible, with the relocation of equipment currently underway and expected to be completed by Monday, June 30.

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The building is used to store a number of District vehicles and equipment, as well as the materials needed for maintenance and road repairs.

Morphy said not having materials on-site leads to inefficiencies as they are forced to depend on local businesses and hope they have the required materials in stock.

He said they’d likely be unable to do even a basic repair if an emergency occurred over a holiday if no local stores were open.

“This weighs on me heavily. We are number one in every single category in Lantzville’s emergency plan, save and except if there’s a fire, but public works is the first point of contact, and we currently cannot address adequately some of our emergency needs if we ever have a real emergency, and that’s a concern to staff and myself.”

A lack of cell service, changerooms, and adequate washroom facilities was also a concern.

The District said their building inspector is “currently investigating changes made to the interior of the building without permits,” and they typically provide the owner with options to bring the building into compliance.

They said the buildings and land at 7099 Lantzville Rd. will be able to accommodate the temporary relocation of their public works while they work on identifying a permanent location.

The new temporary location of the District of Lantzville’s public works yard. (District of Lantzville)

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