Today's date: 2010.07.29

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Puslinch council concerned about fill removed from Guelph property

by Chris Daponte

ABERFOYLE -

Puslinch councillors are concerned about the amount of fill removed from a property at the corner of Forestell Road and Phelan Drive in Guelph, but city officials say all the proper procedures were followed.

Puslinch Township has received several emails from neighbours worried about the amount of fill and gravel extracted from the property, which someday could become part of the existing 162-hectare Hanlon Creek Business Park.

“This piece of land has been massacred and it is unbelievable that it was allowed to happen,” resident Jim Christie said in a letter to city and township staff.

Several residents called the site a “gravel pit” and alleged the material was used at the business park across the HanlonExpressway.

Puslinch councillor Dick Visser said originally a relatively small amount of fill was to be removed - not nearly enough to create the huge hole on the property, which he estimated at 30 feet deep and about five acres in size.

“How did Guelph get away with it and where is the MNR [Ministry of Natural Re­sources] in all this?” Visser asked on Nov. 4. He also wants to know when the change in plans occurred and when the city will rehabilitate the land.

Visser noted Guelph recently “stuck its nose across the fence” - city staff objected to an application to relocate Milburn Autos Sales from the city to a Puslinch property - and said maybe it’s time the township started looking out for Puslinch residents living near the city limits.

Mayor Brad Whitcombe said previous Puslinch councils have always been diligent in looking out for all township residents and he is confident that will continue. But Whitcombe agreed with Visser and said Guelph “needs to be accountable” for its ac­tions.

“The city seems quite interested in what’s going on on our side of the fence,” the mayor said, echoing Visser’s comments on the Milburn issue.

Visser suggested writing a letter to the city, and councillor Matthew Bulmer said the town­ship should go one step further and also contact the MNR for some answers. The rest of council agreed.

Michelle Thalen, of Guelph’s engineering department, told the Advertiser Cooper Construction owns the property, not the city. She said the company received a site alteration permit from the city to transport the fill off-site.

However, Thalen added the fill was not used in the business park, but another location within the city. She called the material “basic fill” and noted the owners were “not seeking a particular kind of fill.” As such, the permit did not require the approval of the MNR.

Fill was removed from only a portion of the lot owned by Cooper Construction, she noted, and both the company and the city followed all the required protocols for such an application.

As for rehabilitation, Thalen said the company had trouble growing grass on the site and now it’s too late to do so. She said in the spring either grass will be planted or the site regraded (during ongoing work at the business park).

The city has received the Puslinch letter and attempted to clear up some of the misconceptions, Thalen said.

In addition, city staff has met with the landowner, she said, and a representative from Guelph’s mayor’s office has spoken to residents about their concerns.

Vol 42 Issue 46