City staff give the thumbs up to plans to expand the pit

A proposal to extend the life of an aggregate pit on Snow Valley Road in Springwater has received initial approval from township staff.

McColgan Pit, located in the Midhurst area at 1322 and 1368 Snow Valley Rd., has an estimated life of five more years, according to a report to be presented at Wednesday’s city council meeting prepared by planning services manager Chris Russell. .

He recommends council approve requests to amend the city’s Official Plan and zoning bylaw to facilitate continued expansion and mining of aggregates therein.

Plaintiff, 1693297 Ontario Inc. (Eisses Brothers Excavating), is seeking approvals to continue mining operations on an adjacent property to the north known as 1196 Anne St. N.

They search:

• an amendment to the Springwater Official Plan to redesignate the subject land from “occupancy” to “occupancy exception”.
• an amendment to Springwater’s zoning bylaw to rezone the subject land from the “agricultural (A)” zone to the “extractive industrial (ME)” zone, with site-specific exceptions, including an extractive setback of 30 meters from the adjacent zoned parcel industrial ( 1216 Anne St. N.) in lieu of the required 120 meter setback, a 58 meter setback from the nearest residential dwelling (1216 Anne St. N.) in lieu of the required 150 meter setback, and a zero meter setback between the existing pit and extension land to allow resource extraction within the common plot boundary instead of the required 15 meter setback.

“As the expansion lands are currently designated for ’employment’ uses under the Midhurst Secondary Plan and zoned agricultural (A) in accordance with By-law 5000, an Official Plan amendment and zoning by-law amendment are required to account for expansion plans requested by the applicant,” Russell wrote. in his report.

The proposed extraction of aggregate material from the subject land is considered to be a temporary and intermediate use of the land, he added.

“Once the materials are removed and the site rehabilitated in accordance with Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) requirements, the long-term use of the land will revert to being dedicated to development as ’employment’ land,” Russell said in his briefing. report.

The extension is proposed as a ‘Class A – above water table’ pit under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) with a maximum annual tonnage limit of 400,000 tonnes.

The annual tonnage limit is proposed to match and be combined with the current McColgan quarry limit, so no increase in truck traffic is expected.

The company is working with the MNRF to begin the ARA licensing process. Through the licensing process, the township says it is recognized as a commenting agency and staff will prepare separate technical comments for MNRF review once they are distributed.

According to the plaintiff’s representative, James Hunter of Innovative Planning Solutions, there is no timetable for the existing pit. The license has been in place since 1984 and the extension could be a five to 20 year plan.

“As operations go, the plan is to rehabilitate those lands to return them to professional use,” Hunter said at a public meeting to discuss the April 10 proposal.

The future use plan covers both the existing pit land and the expansion land.

The future use conceptual plan includes 22 industrial lots with a minimum lot size of 0.40 hectares (one acre) and access to full municipal services.

“Although the plan is still conceptual at this stage, the proposal would greatly increase the total industrial land base served by the Township,” Russell wrote.

The proposal received one comment from the public.

“On a positive note, I am pleased to see a high quality aggregate production pit in the Township of Springwater close to end users while strategically positioned in an industrial area of ​​the township,” wrote the resident of 28 Boothby Cres., whose name was redacted.

“It is commendable that the project proponents are not only seeking approvals that meet the requirements of the community charter and respect neighboring properties, but appear to have completed a very comprehensive indigenous consultation process and an environmental impact study,” added the resident.

To facilitate continued expansion and extraction of aggregate resources from the McColgan pit, Springwater staff recommended that the report be received and council adopt the Official Plan amendment and that the amendment be submitted to Simcoe County for final approval, subject to minor changes.

Additionally, staff recommended that the zoning bylaw be presented to council for adoption, subject to approval of the Official Plan amendment by Simcoe County.