North Dumfries chooses not to pause gravel pit applications
Posted Jul 12, 2023 01:03:16 PM.
Last Updated Jul 12, 2023 02:23:34 PM.
The Township of North Dumfries won’t be hitting the brakes on gravel operations.
At a council meeting Monday night, the township decided not to implement a interim control by-law or I.C.B.L on aggregate production.
The by-law would have allowed the local government to pause gravel extraction operations for two years.
During the meeting, multiple delegates spoke to council against further aggregate extraction and asked councillors to consider the health, environmental and traffic concerns.
“We are watching our township being eaten up and destroyed and in the past 15 years it has almost double in aggregate,” said one delegate. “If that continues in the next 10 to 15 years we will be totally unstainable,”
“It’s very important to have a council that musters up what we need to do to fight the gravel pit and the [provincial] government,” said another delegate.
Councillor Derrick Ostner addressed those concerns, but expressed his worry about how much the use of the by-law would cost the township.
“We’re concerned with all residents but, we’re very concerned about the costs associated with it and what it’s going to cost everybody else in the township,” he added.
Mayor Sue Foxton also cited the financial cost of using taxpayer dollars and expressed concerns over possible ligation as a reason why council wouldn’t adopt the by-law.
“I haven’t talked to anyone that has been successful with the I.C.B.L,” she said, “I want to win. I don’t want to burn money. I want to win.”
Despite voting down the by-law, council has decided to put in place a framework to try and better control gravel pit activity in the township.
