Concerns of residents raised about the proposed reopening of the former Ross gravel pit west of Sundre have been heard and addressed, according to the company behind the project.
Last week West-Can Seal Coating Inc. submitted a revised development application with Mountain View County, an application that includes changes made to address public input given during several open houses.
“More than 50 per cent of the complaints (voiced at the open houses) were asphalt-based and that's completely eliminated from the new application,” said Andrew Arnill, project coordinator for the Didsbury-based company.
“We want people to recognize the planning and the engineering that's gone into it and that this is a suitable land for what we intend to use it for,” he explained.
The new application was also sent to all landowners within a kilometre and a half radius of the property, along with everyone who wrote a letter of concern, he said.
After an open house in December, company officials recognized that there was a need to address concerns raised by some residents, he said.
West-Can officials held a second round of consultations in January to gather further public input.
The January sessions consisted of small discussion groups, which allowed for one-on-one consultations.
The consultation session in December and January identified “valid concerns” and all of those have been addressed in the revised application, he said.
Two-thirds of session participants voiced concerns about possible noise levels from the site, prompting company officials to hire an acoustical engineer to investigate, he said.
The results showed that the noise would not affect anyone in an “unfavourable manner”, he said.
The company plans to block sightlines of the gravel pit as much as possible so it isn't wide open to public view, he said.
“We are a big part of the community and we want to continue to be a part of the community,” he said.
Matthew Arnill, fellow representative for West-Can, said according to a revised activity plan for the pit, it will be used for aggregate production six days a week.
“We originally had 24 hours of operation; we took out 24 hours of operation and put in 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” he said, noting that the hours are now the same as those of surrounding gravel pits.
Another amendment made to the application in response to a neighbour at the south edge of the property was to adjust the setback to 15 metres, he said.
“The province regulates that you only have to have a three-metre setback off the edge of the property,” he said. “Our goal has always been to develop and reopen this property in such a way that minimizes the impact as much as possible.”
The Sundre site will provide a minimum of 30 years of employment, he said, adding that the pit will generate about $400,000 a year in wages just for running the machines on the property.
There will also be spinoff money generated in the Sundre area, he said.
Mining will begin at the north part of the property, which is the furthest away from the majority of homes within the community, he said.
There will be a sweeper and a water truck on site at all times and the only road used as a haul road will be Rge. Rd. 6-1, in order to address traffic concerns, he said.
“I hope that we've been able to satisfy the neighbours' concerns through our revised application,” he said.
West-Can has about 40 full-time staff members and about 125 seasonal staff, he said.
“We have 228 companies in Mountain View County that we work with on a regular basis.”
Under the county application process, members of the public at large now have until April 15 to write a response and voice any further concerns, he said.
A copy of the revised application is available for viewing at the Mountain View County planning department.
