Eddie Weismiller of J&E Backhoe Ltd. owns a property at 730 Buchanan Road, commonly referred to as Eddie's Pit. It is the location of a quarry, as well as companies like Bowen Island Sand and Gravel Ltd., J&E Backhoe Ltd., Bowen Biffies and BRS Water Services Ltd.
In January of 2012, Weismiller had submitted a rezoning application to the Bowen Island Municipality (BIM) for part of the property to allow for a number of existing and future uses. In October 2012, staff recommended that he narrow down the uses and resubmit the application, together with a survey and an application to amend the Official Community Plan (OCP).
At the council meeting on July 22, a revised rezoning application by J&E Backhoe was on the table. BIM's planning consultant Judy McLeod presented a report on the application, stating that the size has been reduced from six acres to one acre and now fits within the industrial designation of the OCP.
"The property covers almost 20 acres and has been the site of a sand and gravel operation since 1973. A quarry business operates on a portion of the property under license by the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines. Four companies which the property owner owns or has interest in are located on various portions of the property," the report says.
The rezoning did not go ahead in the fall 2012 and mayor Jack Adelaar drew attention to the results. "I understand that there used to be 14 people working on the property and now there are only four," he said. "So, a decision would be important for the island's economy."
Bowen Island resident Stacey Beamer said that he has been to the property many times over the past 15 years. "There have been long-standing uses of that property and the reality is that we have different uses in various pockets on the island. I believe that the uses that are proposed are important for the future of our economy," Beamer said, adding that Bowen Island's economical climate often requires cumulative enterprises for a business to be successful. "[J&E is] running a good operation up there and I support the rezoning application as long as environmental, aesthetic and noise concerns are addressed."
BIM's Chief Administrative Officer Kathy Lalonde made a note of correspondence items in support of the application.
One of the letters came from Chris Sorrentino, who also lives on Buchanan Road. "I feel the revised size and list fall more suitably within the surrounding neighbourhood," Sorrentino states, but adds that there still are numerous concerns. He suggests that "measures are taken to ensure that there are no negative impacts on the drinking water located in the nearby surrounding wells and Billington Creek" and that "the hours of operation in the rezoned area be restricted." Sorrentino also recommended that the "municipality put in place a way of enforcing the use of the property."
Another letter was received from David Riddell and Cathy Buchanan, who own a residential lot adjacent to the property. "We had strong reservations with the previous rezoning application," the letter states. "However, we wish to state that we are now in favour of this new rezoning application with a few exceptions and requirements."
Riddell and Buchanan support the removal of the stump and bush grinder, the RCMP car impound facility, the scrapping of vehicles and the brokerage and composting facilities from the list of proposed uses and say they "applaud the plan to gather all non-conforming business uses and cluster them within the proposed rezoned area." Among the list of issues that need to be addressed, they mention screening for sight lines and noise exchange, a buffer zone and set back to Billington Creek and its tributaries, business hours of operations and the speed of trucks on Buchanan Road.
McLeod said that the new application came out of a number of conversations with the landowner and his agent.
"The north west portion of the property will continue to be a quarry and the application relates to a piece of less than one acre in the south east to be rezoned for standard industrial uses," she said, adding that a survey of the property will be provided prior to the final adoption of the bylaw.
McLeod said that the staff report includes some issues that have come forward. "For instance, the fire chief expressed some concern about the sale of propane [on the property]," McLeod said, adding that she suggests excluding the sale of propane from the suggested uses.
Bill Newport, the agent for the property, spoke about the decision to opt for a reduced number of uses that are consistent with the OCP. "Due to the difficulties of getting a license to do composting, we decided it was too much trouble," he said, adding that he will work with staff to address additional concerns.
Will Eddie's Pit be able to go back to its previous number of employees? "Local small businesses often cannot stand alone as money making operations and may need other work to contribute [to the income]," Newport said and Weismiller added that the reduced number of jobs currently available at the site is due to the fact that he doesn't have the work up there now.
Council acted on McLeod's recommendation to read the bylaw for the first time and refer it to municipal departments, the Islands Trust, the Advisory Planning Commission, the Parks, Trails and Greenways Advisory Committee and the Economic Development Advisory Committee.
