Halton Crushed Stone (HCS) answered questions about its gravel pit application during a March 6 public meeting at the municipal office.
Attendance at the meeting was down considerably from a previous meeting in November, which saw standing room only at the Centre 2000 Shamrock Room.
However, a number of residents spoke up about lingering concerns with the application.
HCS is applying for an official plan amendment (OPA) for one portion of its northward expansion (southwest of the 10th Line) that is already zoned for aggregate extraction, and an OPA and zoning amendment for the other portion of the expansion (northeast of the 10th line).
The expansion would extend the pit on both sides of the 10th Line from Sideroad 10 to Wellington Road 52, adding 150 acres to the existing pit.
The current gravel pit was originally licensed in the 1970s under previous owner Dufferin Aggregates. Halton Crushed Stone (HCS) bought the property in 2014 and has been extracting aggregate since.
Land use planner James Parkin of MHBC Planning, speaking for HCS, said the application is ready to move forward for council’s consideration.
“I think the discussions we’ve been having have been productive, there’s many questions (that) have been answered and there’s been changes made as a result of what we heard and feedback received,” he said.
Parkin noted all government agencies have submitted comments with no outstanding concerns. He added the county’s peer reviews of technical studies is complete and recommendations have been incorporated into the site plans.
Parkin highlighted changes that include the addition of visually appealing screening, doubling to 60m the setbacks of the corners, additional landscaping on the front of the berm, additional noise controls and an update to dust management.
County planner Aldo Salis said a report will come to council in the near future.
As a direct neighbour to the northward expansion of the pit, Caitlin and David Piva again raised concerns about the property, specifically with water monitoring, dust management and the safety of motorists due to rocks on the road.
“Is there a way that we can mandate that (HCS) has to, at the end of the week, clear those roads before the weekend rush comes through?” asked Caitlin.
Parkin replied, HCS “really can’t go out and start maintaining the county and township roads,” but he suggested additional aggregate fees mandated by the provincial government could go toward additional road maintenance.
Residents Sharon Cranstone and Roy Val raised concerns about the Concession 10 expansion parcel, which has been the subject of a 1976 Ontario Municipal Board hearing.
Under the county’s Official Plan (OP), 300 metres from the urban boundary is not usually considered within the mineral aggregate resource overlay.
Cranstone asked why this parcel, which sits diagonally opposite of the village of Erin’s boundary and the BelErin subdivision, was included in the OP.
She stated while the overlay does not prohibit extraction, it required pit operators to maintain additional constrains and asked council to consider increasing the current setback of 60 metres to 300 metres across from the subdivision.
Resident Karen Maxwell, agreed.
“When I read the OMB ruling, it clearly stated that this applications was being granted with the understanding that the section closest to the town would be excavated first, before there was any development of subdivisions and I’m wondering why in the world council would even be considering letting it go ahead now, if that was the ruling,” Maxwell said.
The OMB decision from 1976 reads, “Eventually many areas such as this must be utilized if building and construction costs are to be maintained at as low a level as possible. It is perhaps better now before more development occurs, than later.”
However the extraction of the northern part of the Concession 10 parcel never occurred.
“There is a schedule in the town’s official plan that identifies aggregate resources so that people know where they occur and may be considered and there is 300 meters excluded around the village,” Parkin explained.
“This property is not excluded because it’s zoned to permit extraction now.”
He added HCS will likely work toward Wellington Road 52 and put in further mitigation methods as work nears the subdivision.
Council did not make any decisions at the meeting.
Councillor Matt Sammut declared a conflict of interest due to the pit’s proximity to his house, but he sent a letter to council stating he objects to the application as a resident.
