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HILLSBURGH ― The restoration of a former sand and gravel pit on Sideroad 27 in Hillsburgh continues to divide council and residents.
Delegating to Erin council on behalf of the Concerned Citizens of Erin (CCE) Thursday afternoon, Hillsburgh resident Brittney Pakkala asked councillors to reconsider their approval of a multi-year gravel pit restoration project proposed by 1772853 Ontario Inc. at 9516 Sideroad 27, also known as the Hillsburgh Pit.
Also asking council to consider reinstating the two-year limit on the site alteration bylaw, the Hillsburgh resident and environmental scientist, who lives directly north of the quarry, said the group’s primary concerns are related to procedural process, community safety impacts and potential long-term financial risk for the town.
This follows council amending its site alteration bylaw in February to exempt applications from the originally mandated two-year limit, subject to having a longer term specified in an agreement with the town, to enable the site alteration application for the pit.
Planned to take place over the next 10 to 15 years due to the amount of fill required for restoration, staff previously confirmed the project is anticipated to generate approximately 150 daily truck arrivals during normal operating hours, with a maximum of 31 trucks per hour using Sideroad 27, Eighth Line and Sideroad 22.
Erin is anticipated to receive $10,719,810 in project revenue, since the total amount of clean fill is projected to be 5,359,905 cubic metres and the town has a tipping fee of $2 per cubic metre.
“Our concern extends beyond this pit, but actually (how it) opens up to future fill operations,” said Pakkala. “We are a community of many pits, and in us removing the two-year limit and extending it to 20 years, (we’re) opening ourselves up to potential further issues even beyond this pit.”
Questioning the public consultation process surrounding the application, another member of the coalition, Paul Campbell, said the group has filed a Freedom of Information request to the town, as the group is concerned council made its decision based on inaccurate or incomplete information from the applicant.
An online petition started by the group has 200 signatures to date.
“We recognize that revenue is imperative for the town, but we can’t drink money,” said Campbell.
Asked by Coun. Jamie Cheyne about the implications of the town rescinding its agreement, the town’s manager of planning and development, David Waters, said it would be a breach of contract and the town may face legal implications from the owner.
Agreeing with many of CCE’s points, Coun. Bridget Ryan, who originally opposed amending the bylaw, raised her own concerns about the proposal and the Earth Healing Foundation listing the town as a project partner on its website, to which staff had no comment.
The Indigenous non-profit, which is named on a sign on the Sideroad 27 property, is not currently involved in the project, although the owner previously indicated they were involved at an earlier stage.
“I’m not exactly sure where we go, but I think we need to keep our voices alive and keep this information coming forward, because we have to start to change some of this,” said Ryan. “It isn’t good enough to just say it’s managed by the province.”
Coun. Cathy Aylard, who also opposed the amendment, said she would like more clarification around a previous claim that if the pit wasn’t approved at a council level, it could be approved at a provincial level, which would result in a loss of revenue for the town.
Mayor Michael Dehn later suggested members of the Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario (TAPMO) can come present to council to help inform them about the process.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a partially federally-funded program.
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