The fight in the Town of Erin to put the brakes on a gravel pit expansion is much the same as other aggregate battles of the past. Misery enjoying company is no comfort for these homeowners.
Truth be told, aggregate is a valuable resource and of great need to industry and commerce. Laws have been struck to ensure extraction rights so industry, and in turn the public, are not shortchanged by poor supply and higher prices, if such applications were to be stymied.
This is why many citizen groups feel frustrated with the current system, because there is so little that can be done to halt expansions. All proposals seem to be a fait accompli, leaving limited room for negotiating mitigation measures to offset some of the nuisances of being close at hand to a pit.
Another element that goes hand in hand with gravel and other contentious issues is the difficulty with which parties negotiate or communicate. Open Houses and meetings are held for communication purposes and depending on the parties involved, those events can be quite stressful or quite illuminating. It would appear from our coverage this week, that the open house in Hillsburgh was one of those occasions where almost everyone would ask for a re-do. But, there are no such things as mulligans, or do-overs, in the high stakes game of planning. Gravel pits have a way of making such events into powder-kegs ready to go off.
Few public speakers or meeting organizers hold the distinction of never losing their cool and the sad reality is society continues to lose ground every day in the battle for respectful dialogue. There is little gained from vulgarisms, nor from impolite conduct.
The applicants deserve to be able to give out their information and equally deserving is the public impacted by the proposal to ask its questions. When an open house or meeting descends to the point of name calling, the only solution to such an event is to shut it down and try again. While the applicants may believe they met the spirit of legislation with this open house, it would be a great olive branch to extend to neighbours that another event will be held. If that courtesy is extended, we hope neighbours can be gracious and accept a chance for constructive dialogue.
While we do not see a situation where the application will be shut down, it is hoped the applicants and the neighbours can reach sensible arrangements on trucking routes, well testing and operating licence conditions.
A little legwork now on the part of Strada, may very well save years of hostility when the expansion finally goes ahead.
