The piles of paperwork, the procedural puzzle pieces are beginning to come together for an Ontario Municipal Board hearing scheduled for September, focused on a proposed quarry on the outskirts of Rockwood.
An OMB pre-hearing was held Thursday morning at the offices of the Township of Guelph-Eramosa, about 30 minutes east of Guelph, and due north of the proposed quarry. The township council chamber was packed with about 50 people. It was the third pre-hearing to be held on the matter.
The serious nature of the proceedings was evidenced in the number of lawyers and concerned residents present. There were five of the former.
One lawyer, David White, represented southern Ontario aggregate giant James Dick Construction Ltd., which has over a dozen aggregate pits and quarries throughout the region, including the massive Guelph Limestone Quarry (formerly known as the Dolime quarry).
Another lawyer represented the Concerned Residents Coalition (CRC) Rockwood, an incorporated group of over 1,000 residents of communities near the quarry site, funded mostly by private donations and small fundraising events.
CRC has been fighting the so-called “Hidden Quarry” proposal for three years. “Stop the Quarry” signs are posted everywhere in the area.
Guelph-Eramosa also had legal council at the pre-hearing, as did the Town of Halton Hills. OMB member Blair Taylor presided.
CRC president, Doug Tripp said in an interview Thursday that none of the concerned citizens knew quite what they were getting into when they set out to mount an OMB challenge again James Dick Construction’s rezoning and aggregate license application for the quarry.
“It was just overwhelming,” he said. “But the more we learned the more strongly we came to believe how negative this development would be for this area.”
The proposed site, which is definitely hidden in a forested area on the southwest outskirts of Rockwood on 6 Line, would, if mined, have negative impacts on the environment and the rural feel of the area, Tripp said.
Dust, noise, heavy truck traffic and the potential loss of natural space, he indicated, are all reasons why CRC has moved ahead with the challenge.
The coalitions members come from Rockwood, the Guelph-Eramosa and Halton regions, and from as far away as the Town of Milton, Tripp said.
“Even those who are not in close proximity to the quarry are concerned about it,” he said.
Blair Taylor wasted no time setting some ground-rules for the proceedings.
“This is not a congregational meeting, this is my meeting,” he said sternly, as a few late arrivers entered noisily.
Taylor asked if any formal mediation had been scheduled to resolve the matter, and he was told by one of the lawyers that it had not. It appears there is currently no mood for mediation.
Taylor then insisted on a number of things, including timelines for receiving witness statements prior to the hearing, and, most insistently, specifics on exactly which sections of provincial policies and municipal official plans will be the focus of CRC’s challenge.
“I want to be clear that if it is ambiguous or generic in nature it will not be accepted,” Taylor said.
It was clear that the OMB hearing, when it comes, will hear from dozens of witnesses. There are 75 listed so far. The hearing is scheduled for eight weeks beginning in September.
To continue to raise the funds needed to proceed with the OMB challenge, CRC will hold its Great Outdoor Sale event on Saturday, May 14 at a location near the proposed quarry site, 4943 6th Line. It begins at 8 a.m.
