A decision on whether a new land use district for aggregate extraction and processing should be created in Mountain View County has been deferred until Oct. 23.
County council held a combined public hearing on Aug. 27 to consider amendments to the Land Use Bylaw and Municipal Development Plan to add a new district called Aggregate Extraction/Processing district.
Current gravel pit and mining operations are considered discretionary uses under the agriculture and heavy industry districts.
Re-designation would require circulation to adjacent landowners, advertisements and a public hearing prior to being considered by council.
New rules would also govern how close operations can be to an existing dwelling.
During the hearing, representatives from companies in the area as well as area residents shared their thoughts on the proposed bylaw.
Council asked administration to take the information and opinions presented at the meeting and modify the bylaw before bringing it back to council for consideration of second and third readings.
Vern and Lorna Maerz took issue with the proposed requirement that extraction shall not be permitted within 165 metres of an existing dwelling, nor shall a dwelling be permitted within 165 metres of an aggregate extraction operation. The couple said the setback wasn't far enough.
They called it absurd and insulting to residents in their written submission to council.
“The loss of property value due to proximity of gravel pits is a huge issue that you cannot ignore. Your setback of 165 metres is not adequate to protect property owners' investments,” wrote the Maerzes.
They encouraged council to consider requiring a mandatory setback of one half mile from any current development and outline what would be required for sound mitiagtion.
One company representative who shared his thoughts on the bylaw was Paul Arnill, owner and manager of West-Can Seal Coating Ltd.
One of his concerns was that the bylaw would create a two-step process when both steps could be combined into one.
But he noted that if the county has a clear set of guidelines to follow, his company will work with those rules.
“What we want is a clear and objective standard,” said Arnill, adding that the county is moving toward objective standards by clearly laying out the requirements related to gravel pit operations.
“And if you do everything they require of you, you should be able to get a zoning change. The whole aggregate industry is saying the same thing – we want objective standards rather than subjective standards,” he said.
“We've put a lot of things into our site plan where we're going to crush as far away (from residences) as we can...so we can try and not bother anybody. We've done everything we can to try and mitigate any issues.”
Reeve Bruce Beattie said he thought that the meeting had very good representation from both groups, and that it was “quite a useful conversation for council.”
Some respondents were misinformed that the issue was with one particular location – McDougal Flats near Sundre – but Beattie noted that the bylaw would encompass all extraction and processing operations in the county, including the county's own operations.
He explained that council feels this change is positive, because under the previous system, a gravel pit could be created under an agricultural zoning, with the only requirement being the request and receipt of a development permit.
With the new bylaw, landowners would be required to rezone a parcel before a gravel pit could be created, with a public meeting being included in the process before a permit is given.
“This way there would be a public hearing for landowners. It just gives us a little better sense of where the development is going to take place and also provide a bit more certainty and planning for the resources in the county,” he added.
- With files from Lea Smaldon
