 Brad Smith, left, and Ray Federow, standing on Peachland's Princeton Avenue near their homes, are unhappy gravel trucks could soon be on the road causing noise, dust and danger. |
"We'll be appealing the B.C. Supreme Court decision," Peachland Mayor Keith Fielding told The Okanagan Sunday.
"We want our eight-year-old soil-removal bylaw that predates the gravel pit to be upheld."
Residents of Pine Hills Mobile Home Park on Princeton Avenue, just east of the gravel pit owned by Peachland Self Storage, have renewed their protests.
"It's simple. There shouldn't be a gravel pit this close to residential," said resident Brad Smith.
"And all the gravel trucks should not be allowed to haul right past us here on Princeton Avenue. It's a narrow street and the trucks are too wide and speed, and someone is going to get hurt."
Neighbour Ray Federow is also opposed.
"When the gravel pit was allowed to operate for a while last year, the trucks kicked up so much dust that everything was covered outside and it even got inside all over everything," he said.
"Plus, you can't have big gravel trucks on Princeton Avenue. It has no sidewalks and people use it to walk their dogs and go to the community mailboxes. It's dangerous."
Federow retired to Pine Hills four years ago after finishing his job in Surrey in a printing shop.
"I wouldn't have bought here if I knew all this was going to happen," he said.
"It's only driving down property values."
As the mayor said, Peachland has had an earthworks control bylaw for eight years governing the operation of gravel pits.
In 2009, Peachland Self Storage was issued a permit from the Ministry of Mines to operate a gravel pit on its property off Princeton Avenue between McDougald and Pierce roads.
Peachland knew of plans for the pit and was concerned that it may affect municipal water source Deep Creek as well as cause operational and trucking noise, dust and danger on the roads.
So the municipality amended the bylaw and set a 200 cubic metre per year soil removal limit.
The ministry's limit was 100,000 cubic metres annually.
Thus, a dispute that went all the way to B.C. Supreme Court, where earlier this month it was deemed the Peachland bylaw is invalid because the municipality changed it without getting permission from the Ministry of Mines.
The Supreme Court decision clears the way for Peachland Self Storage to start mining and hauling gravel again.
However, plans for the pit are not known at this time because The Okanagan Sunday could not reach Peachland Self Storage this weekend at its location or by telephone.
