Revelstoke City Council will be giving a negative referral to the province concerning two proposed gravel pits on Westside Rd. and the Jordan Kirkup Forest Service Rd.
Council heard a staff report from planning technician Michael Coulson recommending that council not support the Kirkup Quarry and that they share their concerns about the Westside Rd. location including: environmental concerns, low economic impact and significant neighbourhood opposition.
Along with the report, a petition from the community that had more than 150 signatures was presented as well as several letters of opposition.
Community concerns include noise, dust, disruption of the recreational area, disruption to wildlife amongst other things.
Jake-Jay Construction Ltd. has applied to the province for the two aggregate production sites, their application includes plans to mitigate noise and dust with trees as a buffer between the work site and the road.
If approved, the company will relocate its main aggregate production operation to the site, according to a management plan submitted with the Crown Land application. Its current production site is the RSG Jordan Pit, which cannot be accessed in the winter.
The second site, on the Jordan Kirkup Forest Service Road, will be a supplemental location that will only be used once the RSG Jordan Pit is depleted and reclaimed, according to their management plan for the site.
Though gravel pits are allowed in the land-use bylaw, the Official Community Plan says otherwise-something that council should address, said Marianne Wade, director of Development Services.
The OCP identifies the area as a “Natural Ecosystem” land use, with an emphasis on environmental protection and conservation.
“While the Zoning Bylaw ultimately takes precedent on what is permitted as a use on a particular site, the OCP is more up-to-date, and should be weighted heavily against the proposal,” the report reads.
The proposed location on Westside Rd. is also identified as part of a flood plain, according to the OCP, which means all structures would have to adhere to floodplain requirements, something that the province did not mention in their referral, the city staff report said.
Though city council agreed they did not think these locations were right for a gravel pit, the province has the final say in whether or not the operation is approved, as it is on crown land.
Both the city and the CSRD will submit their feedback on the application, and that, Mayor Gary Sulz said, is the best they can do.
The application is still in the early phase, with the ministry collecting feedback from stakeholders and the public able to provide input until July 28.
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