Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ottawa City Council has voted to reject a plan to expand a quarry in the city’s rural west end.
The 4200 March Rd. site between Upper Dwyer Hill Road and Burnt Lands Road, is approximately six kilometres east of the town of Mississippi Mills and was slated for expansion by Thomas Cavanagh Construction.
The 18-hectare site, currently designated as a green space and natural environment area, is west and north of the existing West Carleton Quarry. City staff had recommended rezoning the area for mineral extraction, a move that sparked opposition from residents and the local councillor, West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly.
Kellyโs motion to reject the quarry expansion passed by a vote of 13 yeas to 11 nays at City Council’s April 16 meeting.
Staff explained that council must provide a reason for refusing the proposal, and the applicant would then have 15 days to appeal the refusal. The city would be expected to retain a land-use planner and an environmental planner to make its case, which staff estimated would cost $45,000 to $50,000, CTV News reported.
Kelly argued that the expansion would negatively impact the community, citing concerns about noise, dust, heavy traffic and pollution. He also highlighted the abundance of existing quarries and pits in Ottawa, and insisted that the land holds natural and scientific interest, meriting protection.
Despite provincial policy dictating that the city must allow resource extraction, Kelly urged council to refuse the application, emphasizing the need to uphold the city’s Official Plan. His motion to reject the zoning amendment, outlining the aforementioned concerns, was ultimately passed with a vote of 13 yeas to 11 nays.
Voting in favour of Kellyโs motion were councillors Theresa Kavanagh, Clarke Kelly, Riley Brockington, Jeff Leiper, Cathy Curry, Sean Devine, Laine Johnson, Jessica Bradley, Stรฉphanie Plante, Rawlson King, Marty Carr, Shawn Menard, and Ariel Troster.
Voting against were Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and councillors Wilson Lo, Glen Gower, Catherine Kitts, Laura Dudas, Steve Descroches, Allan Hubley, Matt Luloff, Tim Tierney, David Brown, and David Hill.
Kelly’s motion:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the applications for an Official Plan Amendment and zoning amendment in respect of 4200 March Road be refused.โ
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the reasons for refusal be as follows:โ
- The 2013 Mineral Aggregate Resource Study provided that โBased on current trends and assuming 80% of the aggregate supply continues to be supplied from bedrock sources the estimated required supply for 100 and 200 year planning horizons is 1,360 and 3,640 million tonnes respectively. Reviewing licensed sites as well as active and undeveloped areas, the estimated remaining licensed resource is 861 million tonnes. Resource potential in the designated bedrock resource area but still unlicensed is estimated between 600 and 947 million tonnes. The potential 13 bedrock resources in both licensed and designated-unlicensed area is estimated between 1,461 and 1,808 million tonnes.โ, andโ
- Staff did not recommend any additional bedrock or sand and gravel resource overlay in the 2022 Official Plan, andโ
- The City of Ottawa has, in total, an estimate of 4000 hectares of lands already licensed as pits and quarries in the city, andโ
- The residents in the area are concerned with the proposed hours of operation, increased heavy traffic at the site, and the potential for dust, noise and odour pollution interfering with the surrounding environment and the enjoyment of their homes, andโ
- The Aggregate Resources Act, section 12.1(1) permits the Minister to issue a licence to such operation only if a zoning by-law allows the site to be used for the making, establishment, or operation of pits and quarries.โ
- The subject parcel is designated as an ANSI and merits continued protection.