| GRAVEL PIT CONCEPT MEETS HO

_ by Tod Strachan

A March 13 public hearing
offered little support for a pro-
posed gravel pit east of the Copper
Mountain subdivision. Following
on the heels of a corrections centre
proposal that died even before
going to a public hearing, many of
the complaints and complainants
were the same. But not all.

The property in question is
owned by Dave Dams and borders
on the eastern boundary of the
land that had been suggested as the
site for a new corrections centre. It
is south of property owned by
North Coast Road Maintenance
presently being used for storage
and already approved for the con-
struction of a replacement to the
‘Park Ave. highways maintenance
shop. Dams’s proposed gravel pit
would be immediately to the
southeast of an operational gravel
pit and asphalt manufacturing plant

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Terrace Review — Wednesday, March 20, 1991 Al3

Copper Mountain group opposed

owned by North Coast’s parent.

company, Kentron Construction.

In describing his proposal, Dams
said he wanted to remove gravel
from his property to the level of
the Creech St. entrance, leaving no
"holes" that might create a hazar-
dous ponding situation.

He also told the panel that he
intended to leave a "green buffer"
on the perimeter of the property.

Although the requested rezoning.to_
Restricted Industrial (12) would

permit the construction of a con-

crete or asphalt plant, Dams said:

he had no intentions of doing so.

When questioned as to what a
new property owner might do if he
decided to sell his property, Dams
said, “IJ can’t answer that.” But
panel chairman Les Watmough, the
Kitimat-Stikine Regional District
director for Thomhill, suggested

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that wasn’t necessarily a problem
‘pecause a restrictive covenant
could be attached to the rezoning
that would prevent undesirable
types of development from occurr-
ing in the future. '

Concer over a potential drainage -

problem cause by excavation on
the property was expressed. by
North Coast Road Maintenance
manager Lloyd Scott, but Dams
responded by saying there should
be no cause for any concern. "I
plan on getting the Water Branch

to look at the site before I dig,"
‘Dams said.

Of the provincial bodies who

-were asked to comment on the
- rezoning application, the ministries

of Health, Environment, Municipal
Affairs, Crown Lands and Energy,
Mines and Petroleum Resources all
said either that they had no objec-
tion or that their interests were
unaffected. B.C. Hydro also voiced
no objection.
One ministry that did respond
with specific recommendations was
the Ministry of Highways. District
manager John Newhouse said in a

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letter to the regional! district that
prior to approval of the rezoning a
legal transportation corridor "shall"
be established.

The route outlined by Newhouse
would follow the.Creech St. right-
of-way from Dams’ property to the
old CanCel haul road, southwest
on the CanCel road for about a
and then north
through Crown land to Highway
16.

In a subsequent interview, New-
house told the Terrace Review that
Ministry of Highways has long-
term but undefined plans to use the
old CanCe! haul road as a main
access route to both the lower and
bench areas of Thornhill area. He
explains that the location of that
access point from, Highway 16.to
the CanCel road, is the same as
that outlined for Dams, but it is
not necessarily Dams’ responsibil-
ity to build.

That responsibility, says New-
house, belongs to the first user in
that area requiring road access to
Highway 16. That would originally
have been North Coast Road Main-
tenance, but they’re apparently
going to wait for the renewal of
their highways maintenance con-
tract this fall before they go ahead.

It could also be Pacific

~ Regeneration Technologies, which

owns the nearby Thornhill tree
nursery operation. It might have
been the Solicitor General if the
corrections centre project had gone
ahead. That option, of course, is
now gone. It could be Dave Dams.
Or, perhaps more reasonably, it
might be a combination of two or
more of the above that tackle the
project as a joint venture.
Opposition to Dams’ proposal
came from Copper Mountain resi-
dent Jeanette Anderson, who began

_ by’saying, "Once again I feel the
- need to oppose...” First, because

the land in question is currently
zoned Low Density Rural (R2) and
it shouldn’t be changed. And
secondly because there was a
perceived potential for commercial
traffic in a residential subdivision.

Anderson acknowledged that
there was a proposal for highway
access that would avoid directing
industrial traffic through the sub-
division, but added that the "opera-
tive word here is proposed". There
was no assurance, she said, that the
access road would ever be
approved or built.

Alian Grier said his concerns
paralleled Anderson’s and added,
"Houses don’t sit well beside
gravel pits." He then voiced con-
cern over industrial development
that scemed. determined to
encroach on their subdivision. "We
can’t have an industrial area going

| in that close to homes that could
| work its way down to us," he said,

Grier then offered the panel a
letter written by Glen and Alice
Bannister that expressed concern
over the potential for traffic prob-
lems and air and noise pollution.
‘A fourth Copper Mountain resi-
dent, Ministry of Forests employce
Ted Wilson, questioned the visual
impact of the proposal and said his
ministry hadn’! been forwarded a

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copy of the rezoning application
for review. He then said he had
ascertained there was a "significant
potential" for negative visual
impact with Dams’ proposal and,
"If it was a cut block it would

quite frankly be blown out of the. -

water."

Opposition to Dams’ rezoning
request also came from an indus-
trial neighbour. In a letter, North
Coast Road Maintenance and
385191 B.C. Ltd. president Jacque

Michel listed a number of objec- -

tions.

First, in reference to their
planned $1 million highways main-
tenance shop development: "With
the potential gravel extraction and
asphalt and/or concrete work being
carried on from the property in
question to be rezoned, it will
make our investment less attractive
to us since we will encounter a lot
of traffic going around our build-
ing, creating dusty situations for
the operation and increasing the

~ level of noise from concrete and/or

asphalt plant or crusher plant
which is non-existent at this point
in time."

Michel then noted that their
present installations had been kept
away from the southwest comer of
their property to "hide" them from
the public, and that their access
point was at the eastern end of
their property or the same reason.

He then offered, "We have
already noticed that since the area
in question to be rezoned has been
logged off, some water from: the
mountain located south of the
property has flowed towards our
salt shed.” He described this as
having the potential for "serious
inconvenience” that might “jeopar-
dize the safety of the public."

He added this flooding potential
could also threaten their asphalt
plant and stated, "..it is our
opinion that any excavations to be
cartied out will create a high risk
of changing the surface drainage
and create flooding situations for
these installations."

Michel offered this conclusion:
"Since the town of Thornhill has
already two existing gravel opera-
tions, we do not see the need for
more since there is not a shortage
of gravel in the Thornhill area."

And an ultimatum: "If _ the
rezoning was granted to the appli-
cant, 385191 B.C. Ltd. will be in
the situation to look at Kitimat or
Prince Rupert, where we have
properties, to build our repair
shop/office building."

The regional district panel is
currently reviewing ail information
they have been offered and their
recommendation on the rezoning
of Dams’ property is expected to
be presented to the regional board
at ‘their April 20 meeting.

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