Public meeting on proposed blasting quarry to be held June 20

By Zachary Roman

Residents will soon have a chance to share their thoughts on a large below-water table blasting quarry that's proposed to be built south of Alton.

At 7 p.m. on June 20, in halls A and B of the Caledon East Community Complex, a public meeting will be held by the Town of Caledon to “consider the proposed Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications regarding the CBM — Caledon Quarry.”

CBM Aggregates, a division of Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim Cimentos, is proposing to create a quarry between Mississauga Road and Main Street north of Charleston Sideroad (Regional Road 24). The quarry would also include portions of land south of Charleston Sideroad, and east of Main Street north of Charleston Sideroad. 

CBM would need to change Caledon's official plan to re-designate the subject lands to “Extractive Industrial Area B and Environmental Policy Area.” It would need to change Caledon's zoning bylaw for the subject lands to “Extractive Industrial with an exception.”

At the upcoming public meeting, the applicant and its consultants will make a presentation on their application and take questions, comments, and feedback from Caledon residents and Caledon Council. 

According to the Town of Caledon, a review of CBM Aggregates' application is underway and a second public meeting will be held once a thorough review of the application has taken place. 

To register to speak at the public meeting, or to submit written comments, residents are encouraged to visit caledon.ca/speak-at-council. Residents can attend the public meeting virtually by visiting caledon.ca/agenda.

According to the Town, CBM Aggregates plans to remove more than 20,000 tonnes of bedrock aggregate from below the water table, annually, from its proposed quarry.

More aggregate-related news was also recently announced by the Town. 

The Town of Caledon has been working on assembling an Aggregate Resource Community Working Group to provide input on its ongoing aggregate policy study.

On May 26, the Town announced it had chosen six members of the community to form the group: David Sylvester, Martin Bamford, John Emery, Jane Thompson, Neil Morris, and Cheryl Connors.

Residents were chosen due to factors such as experience living near a pit or quarry; expertise in the aggregate field; representation from Ward 1; and previous experience on a committee or task force.

“The role of the Working Group is to liaise with residents to bring a variety of perspectives to the study, to inform the work of the consultant and Town staff,” reads a release from the Town.