It looks like there is some final resolution on the Croftholm Pit proposal.
On Sept. 21, council held a public meeting about an application to rezone the property, with agricultural and natural environment zones to be removed before any amendments that allow for aggregate extraction.
Mayor Dennis Lever said, “This was the former Croftholm Pit and the aggregate licence was surrendered.”
The proposed amendments were part of a conditional consent application.
Jacqueline Zmija, from IBI Group, said the property at 6677 County Road 34 is about 132 acres and owned by Harold Holm. It was in agricultural use until 2002, with Preston Sand and Gravel extracting aggregate from the site from then to 2009. Zmija said the lands were fully rehabilitated to agricultural use and to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Natural Resources. In August 2010, the aggregate extraction licence was surrendered.
She explained the current zones are agricultural, Natural Environment, and extractive industrial. The rezoning would switch the lands to agricultural A, portions of the property from agricultural A-2 and Natural Environment.
She said removal of the extractive zone would prohibit further aggregate extraction from the site and reinstate the agricultural zoning to permit a kennel use.
Zmija said that was the original use of the property before its rezoning for extraction. She said the proposal also rezones the southern portion of the property south of Irish Creek to natural environment to protect the flood plain – a request by the Grand River Conservation Authority.
Neither the GRCA nor Wellington County had objections to the application.
One member of the audience wanted to know the setback from the northern side Irish Creek.
Wellington County planner Sarah Wilhelm said the natural environment setback is 30 metres.
Later councillors passed the zoning amendment bylaw.
