july-30-2010

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Peachland

Local News ... Pg 1-3 Peachland Views ... Pg 4-5 Community Events... Pg 6 Bylaw Beat...Pg 8 At the Gallery... Pg 9 Classifieds... Pg 12 Real Estate... Pg 16

July 30, 2010 Peachland, BC

Volume 06 | Number 30

Dust at the McDougald Road gravel pit.

Photo Contributed

Geotechnical report delays McDougald gravel pit legal court injunction By Joanne Layh On July 22, district council unanimously agreed to request a legal court injunction to stop the activity at the McDougald gravel pit. However, that legal action has been delayed slightly while the district gathers further evidence that the pit operations are in violation of municipal bylaws. “Our lawyers are attempting to get the injunction application into court as soon as possible and wish to ensure that when the application is considered that it is accompanied by photographic and geotechnical

evidence. A geotechnical report has been completed and submitted, and aerial photographic evidence will be delivered to our legal advisors tomorrow (Thursday),” Mayor Fielding advised the View on Wednesday, adding, “Meanwhile, efforts to get the gravel pit principals to acknowledge their responsibility to respect and abide by Peachland’s bylaws have failed, despite the fact that it is a condition of their permit that they do so. This failure has been reported to the Ministry and will be highlighted in our injunction application. Peachland bylaws are designed to protect

the public interest. We are not prepared to let anyone thumb their nose at them as if they were somehow above the law.” As was reported in the View last week, on July 14 district staff became aware of unauthorized work at the McDougald gravel pit. Because the property owners declined to apply for and comply with the district’s various permit and bylaw requirements, as a result, the District of Peachland issued a stop work order on Friday, July 16. Following that, work continued, so during a special council meeting on July 22, district council unanimously agreed to

request a legal court injunction to stop the unauthorised earth moving at the McDougald Road gravel pit. At that meeting, director of operations Doug Allin identified some of the movements taking place at the gravel pit. Allin says there is water intake, but no permit to do so. He also stated to council last week that workers have constructed a soil burm along the perimeter and a ditch along the roadway, which district staff say has caused damage to the road. At the gravel pit site, various types of equipment have been spotted at work, includ-

ing an articulated dump truck, excavator, and dozer. Allin also identified evidence of dust. Ray Federow lives below the gravel pit in Pine Hills, a nearby mobile park. “Where they want to put this pit, it’s creating a lot of dust. When the wind blows from west to east, that dust comes in. When it really blows, if we have any windows open, because I’m the first one on Pierce Street, it just floors in there and we’ve got dust anywhere between an eighth and a quarter inch thick going through,” Federow says. It was the first Monday after operations started

when Federow first noticed a lot of dust coming through. He says that he’s seen 4 heavy machines working and watched what happened as a result of their activity. “You could just see the big cloud of dust coming our way,” Federow said. “When the windows are open, the dust will just blow right into the house. It just covers everything that it can land on – the couches, the tables, the TV’s, everything.” He moved to Peachland in 2009 but now continued page 2 see McDougald Gravel Pit

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