A planning consultant hired by Guelph-Eramosa Township has recommended in-principle approval of a zoning bylaw amendment for a quarry near Rockwood.
The 89-page report, posted online on Sept. 3 in advance of its presentation to council on Sept. 10, was prepared by Elizabeth Howson of Macaulay Shiomi Howson Ltd.
It recommends the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) approve the James Dick Construction Limited application “in principle, subject to detailed conditions” being met “to the satisfaction of the township in consultation with the Region of Halton, Town of Halton Hills and Town of Milton and County of Wellington” as well as other appropriate agencies.
The recommendation specifically mentions conditions “established through the Aggregate Resources Act licence approval,” Guelph-Eramosa’s zoning bylaw process “and through other available mechanisms.”
In December 2012 the township received a completed application from James Dick Construction Limited to rezone land southeast of Rockwood (from agriculture and hazard land to extractive industrial) to pave the way for the company’s proposed quarry.
This May the company took the zoning amendment to the OMB, “citing council’s lack of decision on the application,” the report said.
The proposed site, about 39.4 hectares (100 acres) in size, is located northeast of Highway 7 and the 6th Line. The quarry proposal includes extraction above and below the established groundwater table at a rate of up to 700,000 tonnes of aggregate material annually.
Howson stated the report recommendation was formed after considering whether the quarry can “be permitted in a manner which provides an appropriate balance between all the various goals and objectives of the province and local community.”
She wrote that the township carried out a detailed technical review of the application and supporting reports, which showed the quarry can be permitted from a technical perspective.
Public input was also taken into consideration and the report specifically cites the contributions of the Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC).
The report states that all concerns have been assessed and a number of changes have been proposed to the application involving hydrogeology, species at risk and the haul route study.
“Based on the policy and extensive technical and public review, in my opinion, the proposed quarry can, in principle, be developed in a manner which provides an appropriate balance between all the various goals and objectives of both the province and local community,” Howson wrote.
“It is appropriate, in my opinion after considering all the technical and public input to date, to make the mineral aggregate resource available for extraction given its proximity to the key GTA market and, the fact that based on the technical review, together with consideration of public input, extraction can be undertaken in a manner which minimizes social, economic and environmental impacts.”
Guelph-Eramosa council will officially receive the report on Sept. 10 and the public will have a chance to provide input at a meeting on Sept. 15. Both meetings will occur at 7pm at Rockmosa Community Centre in Rockwood.
The full report is available at http://www.get.on.ca/hiddenquarry.
