#Environment
Target:
City of Chilliwack, BC
Region:
Canada
Website:
veddermpg.yarrowbc.com

On March 24, 2010 Kirkness Pacific Holdings Ltd (KPH) posted a development application sign on its property at Parmenter Road. The company sought to extend the quarry’s period of operation to December 31, 2018 (original permit September 1, 2003 to September 1, 2013) and build a conveyor down the north slope of Vedder Mountain across Crown Land to two lots on Vedder Mountain Road owned by Kirkness. There KPH proposed to blast and excavate approximately 9 acres (3.7 hectares) for a conveyor-stockpile-loadout area.

On September 9, 2010 Walter Raupach invited a group of residents to meet at the Yarrow Community Hall and informed them of the proposed development; he outlined the process of approvals necessary to the development and explained that the application was still at a very early stage. Although KPH had applied to the Ministry of Energy & Mines on December 14, 2009 for an amendment to a gravel mining permit which included the construction of a conveyor down the north slope of Vedder Mountain, they were told that before MEM would consider the application they required permission from the Integrated Land Management Bureau to cross Crown Land.

At the time of the meeting this is where the application sat. Finally, if the other permits were granted, the proponent still needed to apply to the City of Chilliwack to rezone his lots from Limited Reserve Zone with a geologically sensitive area (RSV1gsa) designation to Industrial (M6) in order to build the stockpile-loadout area. The approximately 50 residents who attended the first meeting were first stunned that anyone would propose such an unsuitable project for an area of historic instability; the fact that slides have previously destroyed property on the north face of Vedder Mountain was well known, especially to long-time residents. Then they were outraged that the negative effects that such development would have on traffic, people, property values, local businesses, groundwater/run off, agriculture and tourism as well as the environment were casually dismissed in the application.

The group decided to approach all agencies/ministries/councils to protest the proposed development and to advocate for the retention of current zoning as expressed in the Official Community Plan. Victor Froese initiated a public awareness campaign and the media has kept the issue alive for the past four months (Oct. 2010-Jan. 2011) with stories and letters to the editors. Early in December 2010 the Vedder Mountain Preservation Group (the name adopted by the resident group) circulated a letter requesting correction of errors and omissions in a “pre-approval” response sent by the city to the Ministry of Mines. A two-week campaign netted over 500 signatures and the letter and signatures were delivered to the mayor and councilors December 13, 2010.

Attention is now focused on lobbying ILMB with regard to tenure for the crown land on the grounds that crown land is to be managed for the benefit of the public on the basis of economic, environmental and social needs (Crown Land Allocation Principles, File 12000-00). MEM will be approached with regard to the mining permit amendment on the principle of seeking, considering, and accommodating wherever possible the concerns and interests of communities respecting aggregate activities (Aggregate Management Principles, Nov. 2009).

We believe the proposal should trigger an automatic environmental assessment by the Environmental Assessment Office because of the scope of the gravel mine. The City of Chilliwack, its mayor and councilors will be asked to protect the zoning (RSV1gsa) and permitting (Development Permit Area #2) provisions in the Official Community Plan which was approved by Chilliwack citizens in 1998.

Chilliwack, BC December 10, 2010

We, the undersigned, call on the Integrated Land Management Bureau*, Province of British Columbia, to not permit tenure on Crown land to Kirkness Pacific Holdings Ltd. and/or Western Explosives Ltd., for the purpose of constructing a conveyor-stockpile-loadout area from the Parmenter Road Quarry site down the north side of Vedder Mountain,

and

call on the Ministry of Energy and Mines** to not grant a permit to mine gravel on the two lots on Vedder Mountain Road (44100 and 44300) to Kirkness Pacific Holdings Ltd. and/or Western Explosives Ltd.,

and

call on the Mayor and Council and/or the City of Chilliwack, British Columbia to not allow changes to zoning applying to Lots 44100 and 44300 on Vedder Mountain Road, from RSV1 geologically sensitive area to M6 (Industrial) or to remove them from Development Permit Area #2.

*Recently renamed Crown Lands and Resources, Ministry of Natural Resource Operations

**Recently renamed Ministry of Forests, Mines and Lands

The Preserve Vedder Mountain and Environs petition to City of Chilliwack, BC was written by Victor Froese and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.