The Chair requested staff to advise on the manner of giving notice for the proposed zoning by-law amendment. He also asked staff to briefly describe the proposal and summarize the correspondence, if any, received to date.
Ms. Wong confirmed that the required notice was given in accordance with the Planning Act and circulated to each owner of land within 500m, and a sign was posted on the subject property. She summarized the application, explaining that it proposes to allow 0.8 ha. of the 201 ha. property to be used for an explosives storage depot to service a number of local quarries in the City of Kawartha Lakes as well as Township of Ramara. A blasting contractor (Maxam) will have a small mobile office trailer, magazine, and equipment storage units on site from which about 5 staff will operate with possible expansion to ten staff. The application conforms to the Growth Plan and the City of Kawartha Lakes Official Plan, and is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, as it would not be appropriate to propose storing explosives in an urban environment. Ms. Wong summarized the comments received to date, as detailed in her report, noting that subsequent to the writing of the report additional comments were received from the City of Kawartha Lakes Agriculture Development Officer who expressed no concerns, and Kawartha Conservation who also noted no concerns, but identified that the City should contact the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks regarding any potential bird species at risk in the area. Additional public comments were also received from Sandra Southwell expressing concerns with the quarry development in the area and the security of the proposal and by Jennifer Litton expressing concerns with the entrance location. Staff are recommending that the application be referred back to staff until such time that all commenting agencies and public concerns have been addressed. She responded to questions from Committee members.
The Chair inquired if the applicant wished to speak to the application.
Greg Sweetnam of James Dick Construction Ltd, spoke on behalf of the applicant. He noted that the proposed location makes sense due to its proximity to local quarries, and the unsuitability to locate explosives in typical industrial parks. He stated that they are working with the blasting contractor Maxam, after they approached them to locate the facility at the site. He responded to questions from Committee members.
The Chair inquired if anyone wished to speak to the application.
Douglas Willcock, of 98 Canal Road, expressed a number of concerns with the application including poor notice signage location, questions of ownership and insurance responsibility, potential shockwave distances from the site, security of the site, distance from police and ambulance services, and safety to cattle and wild animals. He concluded by stating that he believes the site location should be in Ramara Township, and that he and his family do not support the application.
Marlene Robertson, of 23 Duncan Drive, noted several concerns including security of the site, proximity to protected species of birds (like the Loggerhead Shrike, and owls), and poor notice signage location. She also expressed that she believe the site would be better located along Highway 12 in Ramara Township, closer to the James Dick Construction quarry.
Jennifer Litton, of 120 Bolsover Road, shared her concerns with the application including, poor notice signage location, explosive haulage routes to and from the site, the size of the vehicles transporting the explosives, and security for the perimeter of the site. She recommended that the site be located closer to the quarries in Ramara Township.
The Chair permitted Mr. Sweetnam to respond to the public concerns noting that James Dick Construction and Maxam would hold the insurance for the site, and he detailed the security provisions of the storage building. He stated that trucks carrying explosives would not utilize the Bolsover area bridge crossings.
No other persons spoke to the application.