Company proposing blasting quarry appeals Caledon’s renewal of Interim Control Bylaw

Bylaw prevents any new pits or quarries from being established in Town until next October

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The company behind a proposed blasting quarry in Caledon has appealed a Town bylaw renewal that prevents new pits and quarries from being established until next October.

The bylaw will remain in effect during the appeal process.

At a November 16 community meeting held by the Forks of the Credit Preservation Group (FCPG), the group shared that on November 14, CBM Aggregates appealed Caledon's Interim Control Bylaw (ICBL) against new pits and quarries to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).

CBM Aggregates (a division of St. Marys Cement Canada), whose parent company is Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim Cimentos, wants to build an approximately 800-acre below-water table blasting quarry just south of Alton.

Caledon's aggregate ICBL was put into place on October 18, 2022, when then-Mayor Allan Thompson called an emergency meeting for the purpose of implementing it at the request of the FCPG. 

ICBLs have a duration of one year, and can be renewed for a maximum of one additional year.

Caledon implemented its ICBL prohibiting new pits and quarries so it could update its aggregate policies, which were found to be some of the weakest among all top aggregate-producing municipalities in Ontario.

This past September, Ward 1 Councillor Lynn Kiernan motioned to renew Caledon's aggregate ICBL for one year, and Council agreed with her, voting to renew it on September 26, 2023. It will now be in effect until October 18, 2024, unless CBM Aggregates' appeal is successful.

The FCPG's lawyer David Donnelly is sending in a response to the appeal, and his initial impression is that the appeal is without merit. The FCPG said it's likely the matter will be heard before the OLT within six months to a year.

As mentioned above, Caledon implemented its aggregate ICBL so it could update and strengthen its aggregate policies.

At Council's November 21 Planning and Development Committee Meeting, a report from Town of Caledon Senior Planner Jeff Hignett was presented. The report was an update on progress made updating Caledon's aggregate policies.

Hignett said Caledon is in stage two — policy formation — of the three-stage process to update its aggregate policies. Stage one was background review. Stage three will be the presentation of updated policies to Council and a recommendation to implement them. 

Caledon has hired the services of aggregate planning consultant Mark Dorfman, who prepared a background report on aggregate in Caledon and is helping with the aggregate policies project.

There's also an Aggregate Resources Community Working Group that was selected by Council. It has met three times so far and will continue to meet as Caledon's aggregate policy creation process continues.

Hignett's report said Caledon has draft versions of its new aggregate policies ready. Next in stage two of the project is the creation of a summary report and a public open house.

Stage three will begin with a working group meeting, then move into presentations. Town staff will then prepare official plan and zoning bylaw amendments for the new aggregate policies, present them to Council, and have a public meeting about them before they can be implemented by Council.

This is anticipated to be complete by mid-2024, before the ICBL runs out.

At the November 21 meeting, FCPG Chair David Sylvester delegated to the update report.

He advocated to Council, asking the Town to retain subject matter experts on things like air quality, traffic, noise, water quality and flyrock to help substantiate its new aggregate policies. Sylvester also said Caledon should retain a well-respected aggregate expert to oversee the rest of the review of its aggregate policies.

“I truly believe this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and I would hate to see this process fail,” said Sylvester.

Mayor Annette Groves said the community needs reassurance from the Town that it's taking the policy review process seriously. She called on staff to share if it was hiring outside help.

Town staff said they already have a planning consultant on the file. Staff said further consultants will be hired to peer-review Caledon's new aggregate policies in areas like blasting, air quality, and environmental protection.

Groves told Sylvester she's committed to working with the FCPG and the community as the aggregate policy review process continues.

Sylvester said hiring subject matter experts for peer-review purposes is not enough; that Caledon needs them on hand for the creation of the aggregate policies, too.

“There's nobody… including the planning consultant, who has anything close to adequate technical expertise to properly formulate the aggregate policies,” said Sylvester.

Staff said they have an experienced consultant on the policy review file and that any policies that come forward will have technical consultants to support them.

Sylvester said Caledon needs its own progressive, state-of-the-art policies that can be supported with evidence and withstand challenges from the aggregate industry.

“Without the technical expertise we simply are not going to achieve that goal,” said Sylvester.