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The Coalition of Concerned Citizens is committed to ensuring good land use planning in Caledon - particularly associated with defeating the Rockfort Quarry application.
Latest Events Around Rockfort Quarry Proposal:
James Dick Construction Ltd. has had to replace their lawyer due to illness and as a result the OMB final hearing will now begin Tuesday, September 15th, 2009. There is still much work to do and the Coalition will take full advantage of the extra time to maintain the momentum of all the unanimous votes against the Rockfort Quarry application by the various agencies (Credit Valley Conservation, Niagara Escarpment Commission, Town of Erin, Town of Caledon, Region of Peel and County of Wellington). Stay tuned.
BACKGROUND:
James Dick Construction Ltd. (JDCL) hired consultants to analyze water and environmental data for the Town of Caledon's "broader environmental study" in Aggregate Resource Area 9A. This area includes the lands that JDCL wants to develop into an open pit mine. His application triggered the necessity for the "Comprehensive Broader Scale Environmental Study" (CBSES) under the Town’s policies. This involved data collection for ground and surface water, fisheries, and wildlife species. A report of the results was finalized March 31, 2008 and is available on Town's website. The revised site plans for Rockfort were submitted July 31, 2008.
At the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) pre-hearing on October 24, 2008, the detailed timetable put together by the Town of Caledon, The James Dick Company (JDCL), The Region of Peel and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) was discussed. This timetable included key milestones for the next seven months in preparation for the FINAL OMB HEARING slated (at that time) to begin May 25, 2009. From a citizen's perspective, how can over ten years of delays getting to a hearing be justified?
The Town of Caledon Planning & Development Director presented the Rockfort Quarry Update to Council on November 11/08, which included "the initial results of the draft technical peer reviews of the Rockfort Quarry studies and reports, and outlining a number of key upcoming milestones."
On November 19, 2008, the Coalition held an Information Evening to bring the community up to date on what's been happening and what can be done going forward. On a snowy evening with numerous other meetings that conflicted with the CCC Info night an excellent crowd of almost 200 people attended.
The Town of Caledon, The Region of Peel, Credit Valley Conservation and the Coalition of Concerned Citizens released PEER REVIEWS of the revised JDCL Site Plans on November 21, 2008.
The Town of Caledon held a Public Meeting on December 10, 2008, to brief the public on the fourth set of peer reviews and where Council received input from citizens about the Rockfort Quarry application. .
The next months will be extremely important.
The Coalition needs every ounce of support you can muster. Lead agencies have voted against the Rockfort Quarry application and we must "stay the course" to make a win at the OMB possible. Your support -- volunteering, attending meetings and contributing financially via garage sales and our capital campaign -- continues to help in many ways and we say "Thank you"!
We will also need you to express your concerns both vocally and in letters to your politicians at all levels of government. Should you or your neighbours not be there for us, then the likely consequences will be an open pit mine pumping millions of litres per day of our water, forcing up to 1,000 trucks per day on our roads, spewing noise, dust, pollution and carbon emissions. Does this represent good planning for Caledon?