The public hearing about the Twin Island Excavating rezoning application on July 31 marked the last chance for island residents to speak out about concerns with the proposed changes to the operation at the Sunset Road quarry. Twin Island's application envisions processing, storage and sale of sand and gravel, disposing of land clearing debris via controlled burning or grinding and a green waste compost facility on the site. As part of the public process, neighbours had been made aware of the application and many came out to voice their opinions.
At the beginning of the meeting, mayor Jack Adelaar reminded the audience that council is not permitted to receive any further verbal or written submissions on the proposed bylaws after the public hearing.
Judy McLeod, planning consultant for the Bowen Island Municipality, said that the property on Crown land is currently designated as Green Zone 3 that allows uses that contribute to the environmental protection. In addition, a site-specific exception allows for the processing, storage and sale of gravel. "The owners [of Twin Island] had submitted an application to renew the lease and wanted to include additional uses such as stockpiling of land clearing debris and a compost facility," McLeod said. She explained that the application was received in January 2011.
In February 2012, the application had been referred to a number of agencies for comments including the Advisory Planning Commission (ACP), the Greenways Advisory Committee, the Islands Trust, Metro Vancouver Policy and Planning and municipal departments.
Documentation showed that there are no objections from the Islands Trust but that Metro Vancouver has identified a number of uses including stockpiling and disposal that would need to go through additional application processes. The ACP as well as the Greenways Advisory Committee expressed concerns that the Twin Island application did not include any assessment of the environmental impacts of grinding or composting and an application for an operating permit from Metro Vancouver.
At the public meeting, Anne Franc de Ferriere Cholat echoed these concerns and suggested that the time frame to deal with the application should be extended as a number of forms and studies have not been completed. "There is supposed to be an environmental impact study," she said. "When someone applies for a rezoning application, there is a check list of items that need to be included but here, the appendix only mentions that the studies should be completed to the satisfaction of the municipality."
The planner's report stated that "solutions for safe, efficient and environmentally responsible disposal of land clearing debris and composting of green waste from the island are priorities for the Bowen Island Municipality. While it is recognized that burning of wood debris is not the preferred solutions, the rezoning of the Twin Island site would provide for a range of options for the disposal of debris and green waste that is physically screened and separated by 500 metres from the closest residential property."
But even at this distance, many neighbours had misgivings about the proposed uses of the site. Herb Patterson owns a property on Fairweather Road and requested that the application be rejected. "Our property backs directly on the Twin Island Quarry and we are forced to exist with a high level of noise from the drilling and blasting. The noise would be aggravated by the operation of the stump grinder," he said. "It is also one of driest areas on Bowen and a fire could get easily out of control."
Other neighbours like Larry Lunn and Gordon Campbell have the same concerns and also drew attention to issues like water and air quality. "You can't tell the magnitude of the changes because you haven't done the appropriate studies," Lunn said. "We'd like to have [the application] stopped at this point in time."
Other speakers pointed out that the environment around Cowan Point Road is sensitive to human activities, that the proposal appears simplistic and tries to cut corners and that the burning will impact the community around it.
Randy McIntosh also lives close by but has no concerns about the application. "All the activity happens within working hours and not on the weekend," he said. "I believe it's better to have a controlled burn than having lots of small burns on Bowen Island with burn permits."
Fire chief Brian Biddlecombe clarified that one outdoor burning of bulk material is only permitted between October 15 to April 15 and it is regulated by the ventilation index. "There are concerns on this side of island as it's very dry," he said, adding that he sees the possibility of creating a pond as potential water source.
In a letter to council, Randy Arnott, president of Twin Island Excavating stated that the maximum quantity of land-clearing debris that would be stockpiled is 200 tonnes. He also estimates that the number of vehicle trips to the site on Radar Hill Road would only increase from 3,550 to 3,650 trips per year and that grinding operations would take approximately two weeks per year.
