Hillsburgh gravel pit, alteration bylaw remain issues for council

ERIN – The former Hillsburgh gravel pit, located on Sideroad 27, once again proved to be a polarizing topic for Erin council on Feb. 26. 

A report from town staff proposed a bylaw amendment to exempt site alteration applications from the maximum two-year limit if a longer term is specified in an agreement. 

Under the current bylaw, all site alterations must be completed within one year,  with an available extension for another year, for a total of 24 months. 

The amendment will enable the remediation of the Hillsburgh gravel pit, which is proposed to take 20 years and was approved by council in January.

However, the proposed amendment “is not site specific ... and applies town wide,” manager of planning and development David Waters told council.

This statement seemed to ring alarm bells for some councillors.

“If this applies for this particular property and a new property comes up that has a 10-year term as opposed to two years, this would immediately apply to that property as well, would it?” asked councillor Bridget Ryan.

Waters confirmed “the application would state a longer period of time and there wouldn’t have to be an amendment to the town site alteration bylaw for it to be executed.”

Councillor Jamie Cheyne asked if the amendment would allow other gravel pits a maximum of 20 years to complete their work. 

Waters explained the amendment would not outline a maximum term, it would simply allow the work to exceed two years. 

“When this was put together a long time ago, the bylaw did not anticipate projects of this longevity,” said councillor John Brennan.

“It also did not envision that we would have something that would take more than two years and therefore the cost factor – the $2 per cubic meter [tipping fee], from one year to the next year –wouldn’t make much difference. But over 10 years or 20 years it does.” 

He added, “When you’re 10 or 20 years out, the $2 no longer has a $2 value. It has devalued over time with the rate of inflation.” 

Brennan asked if a provision could be implemented stating that projects exceeding two years would be subjected to a tipping fee in line with inflation. 

Waters assured council that a provision could be added if council wished. 

Councillor Cathy Aylard asked staff for more information on the legality of the bylaw, citing what she perceived as unclear language in the report.

“We can always change bylaws again in the future,” said Mayor Michael Dehn, who suggested council pass the bylaw as an intermediate bylaw and revisit it in two or three months.

“What’s the rush?” asked Aylard.

Dehn replied, “They’ve been waiting five years to do the work. It’s all economics. Every day they’re not doing the work, we’re not getting the revenue either.”

The mayor mentioned gravel pits could get approval through the Ministry of Natural Resources, which would remove the town’s input in the remediation plan as well as take away any monetary gain from the work. 

“So morally we are putting a $10-million price tag on the quality of life of the people that live around the pit,” said Aylard.

Dehn noted, “We did that with subdivisions, we’ve done that with everything else here and the difference is not just morally. It’s going to happen one way or another – which way is better for everyone?” 

Council approved an amendment to the original motion stating projects exceeding two years would be subject to a tipping fee in line with inflation.

The amendment and the motion were carried with Aylard and Ryan opposed.