MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has defeated second reading on the proposed redesignation of a parcel west of Sundre from agricultural district to aggregate extraction for a new gravel pit.
The move came during the recently regularly scheduled council meeting, with first reading being passed on April 7 following a public hearing.
The parcel involved is located about two kilometres south of the intersection between Highway 584 and Rge. Rd. 55, at NE 30-32-5-5, in the McDougal Flats rural community.
The pit would would have seen dry sand and gravel mined at blocks ranging in size from 3.17 hectares (ha) to 10.02 ha and the proposed haul route from the pit was Rge. Rd. 55 north to Highway 584 with a maximum of 50 loads per day or five loads per hour.
The applicant is Sundre Contracting Ltd., and the property owner is Harder’s Trucking Ltd. During the public hearing the applicant said the new pit would have economic benefits for the community.
A number of objection letters were received by council, with concerns expressed around noise, dust, traffic impacts, impact on property values, and the accumulative effects of multiple industrial operations in the area.
During the April 28 council meeting councillors reviewed further information requested by council following the public hearing.
The information was compiled by administration and included data on the possible impacts of the pit on the Sundre airport, information from Parkland Airshed Management Zone reports, information and tools for potential upgrades to Rge. Rd. 55 and the intersection of Highway 584.
Regarding the nearby county-owned Sundre Airport, administration sought out and received information from the managers of the facility on the potential impact of gravel piles interfering with aircraft and of particulate matter impacting aircraft.
“At the development permit stage, the applicant shall provide mitigation measures that may include watering of the site, and wind conditions under which activities like crushing may be suspended to reduce impact,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
Council passed an amending motion redesignating the lands within the NE 30-32-5-5 by reducing the extraction area size and the product stockpile location.
Coun. Dwayne Fulton then said: “I’m concerned with the significant change that has just been approved without any commentary from the applicant or the public and I can’t support this moving forward.”
Reeve Bruce Beattie said he did not support second reading for several reasons, including concerns regarding the possible impact on airport operations.
Coun. Angela Aalbers said local aggregate extraction companies “provide a lot of support to the community and they supply a very important resource.”
Coun. Peggy Johnson said, “I’m still very concerned that any mitigation that has been discussed as far as noise and dust and traffic has been at the very minimum level and for that reason I am not going to support it (redesignation).”
Councillors then voted on second reading of the proposed redesignation, defeating it 4-3.
Following the vote, Beattie said the defeat of second reading means the company will have to re-apply for redesignation if it wants to proceed with the project.
“Certainly from an economic perspective we want the company to be successful,” said Beattie. “On the other hand we would like to see a demonstration of remediation and reclamation and we haven’t really seen that from the company at their current site.
“If the company demonstrates that it can do that I think council would be more open to approving it. Given that the resource is there I just think it’s a matter of timing.”
