Rocky View County administration is requesting all landowners in the Bottrel area who feel they may be impacted by the proposed industrial gravel pit in their rural area to write a letter to the county outlining their concerns, prior to Feb. 19.
The letters should be addressed to Stefan Kunz; he can be reached at skunz.rockyview.ca or at 403-520-3936. The letters can also be sent to the county clerk, Nona Housenga, at [email protected].
Standing Stone Gravel Ltd., out of Edmonton, recently submitted an application to re-designate (a portion of) the 320-acre parcel in Bottrel they recently purchased from ‘ranch and farm district’ to ‘natural resource industrial district’; the intention is to develop a commercial aggregate extraction operation.
Some 70 residents of the rural community, located 20 min. north of Cochrane along Hwy 22, gathered for a community-led info session at Dartique Hall Jan. 27.
A legally binding petition has been launched by the ‘Concerned Citizens of Bottrel/Water Valley’ group, appealing to the county to put a stop to the development permit based on grounds of environmental concerns (watershed, wildlife and plant life); noise and dust concerns that would result from an industrial-scale gravel pit operation; the safety concerns that could arise from an unconfirmed number of heavy haul trucks on rural roads; a lack of public engagement (despite the application stating public consultation had taken place); and what the group feels is a direct conflict with the county’s mandate for rural land-use in the area.
According to Dana Strasser, a Bottrel resident who runs a small, family-operated natural beef production with husband Andy, there are 74 signatures on the petition, available for viewing and signing at Bottrel General Store.
Dana and other members of the action group are currently putting together a formal objection letter to both Rocky View County and Mountain View County and will be drafting further letters of concern to Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, Alberta Health and Alberta Transportation.
It is clear that this group of passionate Bottrel residents is prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent this application from moving forward.
Div. 9 Coun. Bruce Kendall said the application would have to run its course, but added, “This application runs a high risk of being unsuccessful as an NRI (natural resource industrial) application.”
Kendall said this is because the county needs to buckle down and prepare a thorough bylaw to govern aggregate extraction land-use bylaw for the county; at that point there would be opportunities for public consultation.
“It’s the only way we can be consistent,” he said, adding that he would be “shocked and dismayed if the current application made by Standing Stone was passed.”
He said that as a number of Calgary area gravel pit operations approach the end of their lifespan, applicants would be looking to apply for aggregate extractions in the county; there are currently several application that have been made to the county for aggregate extraction operations.
“We want a standard that people are in general agreement with,” he said, adding that the current Bottrel application appears to be a “long ways from going before council.”
As he awaits further direction from administration, Kendall said he believes it would be more effective for individuals to write letters to administration, rather than make their mark by signing a petition.
A similar application to redesignate 100 acres of land northeast of Cochrane Lake was struck down by Rocky View council in December 2012 in a 7-2 vote.
