A lengthy public hearing has re-ignited the debate about the duration and timing of city council meetings.

Council met Monday for more than five hours, from 6 p.m. to well past 11 p.m.

While public hearings made up two hours of that session, council spent most of that period on a single item, a seemingly routine subdivision application for a Lower Bench Road property that drew considerable interest from the surrounding neighbourhood.

Mayor Dan Ashton — who controls all aspects of the agenda as chair — acknowledged the length of that meeting as excessive and promised that council would revisit the issue.

But he also stressed that Monday’s meeting was the exception and down-played expectations that council might make changes.

“I’m just not sure that there is (an appetite for change),” he said.

One reason may be the fact that at least three councillors — Andrew Jakubeit, Dan Albas and Mike Pearce — head businesses, which could be impacted if council were to meet earlier during the day.

Council changed its meeting routine following November’s municipal election. While council used to hold two sessions on regular meeting days — one in the morning, one in the evening — the city has since combined the meetings into one. It now starts at 6 p.m., one hour earlier than before.

Ashton said council changed the schedule to make council more accessible and accountable. “People were asking for openness,” he said.

Yet it is not clear though whether the new meeting schedule has improved opening and public participation in municipal politics.

Public attendance at city council meetings is general sporadic and it is difficult to accurately gauge whether attendance changes are related to changes in meeting times.

Citizens certainly responded to the Lower Bench Road development. While speakers generally supported the subdivision itself, several raised concerns about traffic safety through the area, which lacks sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities. Monday’s turnout coupled with a lengthy petition forced council to delay approval of the subdivision. Councillors instead asked the developer — local real estate agent Len Fox — to work with neighbours to resolve the outstanding issues in time for the Aug. 4 meeting, a point summed up by Coun. John Vassilaki.

“We have to recognize the views of the neighbourhood ... so that they can feel comfortable with this proposal,” he said.