Gravel pit application on land reserved for data centre

The City of Revelstoke, since 2008, has had the power to influence gravel pits applications in the Westside Road area, a fact city staff somehow didn’t realize until now.

In 2008, the city requested the province reserve two parcels of Crown land adjacent to Westside Road, after a developer approached the city for a future potential data centre site.

In September 2015, city council approved Revelstoke Sand and Gravel’s gravel site permit application, which includes land that overlaps one of these reserved parcels. The city followed process with a submission to the province on permit conditions if the province approved the application.

In response, the province has notified the city of their previous reservation request. In the meantime, Revelstoke Sand and Gravel has prepared a site development plan and had a registered professional biologist prepare a report on the subject property.

In his report to council, director of community economic development Alan Mason said that the southern parcel of land in reserve is an attractive piece of property.

“Staff is not convinced that gravel extraction operations represent the best and highest value use of this land,” Mason’s new report states.

Mason has recommended city council, at the May 24 meeting, direct staff to ask the province to undertake a gravel supply and demand study prior to the approval of any additional or expanded gravel extraction licenses in the Westside Road area. This may result in the province rejecting Revelstoke Sand and Gravel’s current application.

“It would be unfortunate if we approve a use of an attractive piece of land that could have a better and more valuable use because we have no adopted plan in place for that area and are responding reactively to the first developer that expresses interest in the property,” Mason’s report states.

The report also recommends staff inform the province the Revelstoke wishes to maintain and upgrade the northern land reserve on Westside Road that was established with the intent of attracting a data centre to Revelstoke.

Gravel pits have been a contentious issue in Revelstoke, getting many headlines in the past five years. Residents have expressed concern about dust from the pits on Westside Road, and worry that crystalline silica in the dust could have negative health consequences.

Read the full report here.