THUNDER BAY — The Trout Lake Campers Association is welcoming a recent decision by Ontario's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) which puts plans for a new gravel pit on hold.
The LPAT ruled last week that the Lakehead Rural Planning Board (LRPB) was wrong to approve zoning for a 1,200 tonne-per-day operation proposed by Lempiala Sand & Gravel, owned by Bruno's Contracting of Thunder Bay.
It repealed the zoning by-law, and ordered the LRPB to consider the gravel pit application again.
Lempiala wants to excavate and remove aggregate from a 30-hectare site in Gorham Township, at the intersection of Highway 591 and Trout Lake Road.
The property is bordered by residential lots along Trout Lake Road, by the McIntyre River and wetland, and by some mostly vacant land.
There would be no drilling, blasting, crushing or screening, but Lempiala estimated that a truck would leave the pit every 10 to 12 minutes, bringing aggregate to its plant on Dog Lake Road.
In 2018, the rural planning board approved rezoning over the objections of Trout Lake residents, including noise, dust, truck traffic and hours of operation.
The residents argued that a gravel pit is incompatible with established dwellings in the area, and poses a risk to the environment and ecosystem.
The board, however, decided that the concerns were not planning matters, but rather operational issues that could be dealt with once Lempiala applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for a licence.
Trout Lake residents then appealed to the LPAT.
In its ruling, the tribunal said the LRPB had erred by relying solely on planning documents that support aggregate extraction, while failing to consider provincial and local planning requirements for balance and compatibility between land uses.
It also clarified that the MNRF's responsibility for licensing gravel pits does not exempt local planning boards from considering social and environmental considerations.
"There is no hard and fast dividing line between the planning and operational aspects of a proposed development," the tribunal noted.
"However," it said, "the approach taken by the LRPB is not what the (provincial) legislation intends. It is incumbent upon the planning authority to assess the planning merits of the application, which requires testing the proposal against consistency with the appropriate planning policy and conformity with the appropriate plans. This responsibility cannot be pushed forward to another agency."
So far, there is no word from the planning board on when it intends to take up the matter again.
Karen Peterson, president of the Trout Lake Campers Association, said the group "will continue to defend and uphold the principles of good land use planning that stress balance and compatibility with other land users."
A spokesperson for Bruno's Contracting was not immediately available for comment.
