The owner of Jake and Jay Construction says he’s considering his options after receiving feedback from the public about the company’s application for a gravel pit on the Jordan River. Members of the public in attendance expressed clear concerns over the potential environmental,social and health impacts of the proposed gravel pit.
“I’m heavily weighing in on the public feedback. I’m trying to analyze everything,” Grusky Layco, Jake and Jay owner/manager told the Revelstoke Mountaineer during a phone conversation on January 29.
Jake and Jay held an open house meeting to the public at the Revelstoke Community Centre on Tuesday, January 28 to discuss the proposed gravel pit. The Macpherson room at the Community Centre was packed to standing room only.
Jake and Jay Construction currently has a temporary license to operate on sites located on Westside Road and Kirkup Road. The Westside Road pit is located within city limits, while the Kirkup Road pit is located in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. The temporary license is valid until December 6, 2021. Layco said the current license to occupy does not give Jake and Jay any rights to extract gravel or log in preparation in either the Westside Road or Kirkup Road areas.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources did not send a representative to attend the meeting. Instead Jake and Jay Construction will provide an audio recording and notes from the meeting. This move upset some members of the public in attendance, who questioned why FLNROD did not send a representative.
Jake and Jay Construction owner/manager Grusty Layco speaks to the public during an open house on Tuesday, January 28, 2020. Photo: Melissa Jameson/Revelstoke Mountaineer.
Concerns expressed over potential damage to old growth forest, loss of long-time recreational area on Jordan River
During the meeting, members of the public expressed considerable concern over the proposed Westside Road gravel pit in particular. Else Landers questioned how Jake and Jay Construction came to pick that particular area, saying it was her understanding that the area in question had been set aside by the city for some very different purposes. The area is an old growth forest that provides habitat for spotted owl, caribou and various other fauna and flora.
“Why would you pick that particular site that had been set aside for recreation, for environmental purposes. Studies have been done and it was set aside for future use for recreation and an environmental buffer between the city and wildlife and has been used as such for the 55 years I’ve been here. One of the very first places, when we first came here we would go to relax,” said Landers.
Layco responded by saying that if the Westside Road area has has been set aside the City of Revelstoke has not informed FLNROD, and that if this was the case he assumed Jake and Jay’s application would have been turned down.
“For us it is convenience, the further we go out of town the more fuel we burn and we’re going to be passing this on to the public,” said Layco.
Virginia Thompson noted plans for the Westside Road area are in Revelstoke’s Official Community Plan, and that this was mentioned by the city in their remarks to the province about the application. Thompson said the area is deemed environmentally sensitive and the city had not yet completed the necessary rezoning. Thompson further said it is her understanding that city council had passed a motion to match the zoning to the OCP in all riparian areas in Revelstoke, however this motion was made after Jake and Jay submitted the application to FLNROD.
In an email to the Mountaineer prior to Tuesday night’s meeting Thompson said she had hoped “strong opposition expressed by the people of Revelstoke to having gravel pits on the Jordan River had stopped this application.” Thompson said research done by Revelstoke Museum curator Cathy English shows the people of Revelstoke have used the area surrounding the Jordan river for about 150 years.
“In addition the river is also used for kayaking and international competitions for the last three years or so. The river is an absolute treasure for this town. It should be there in perpetuity. Economically it is a huge asset for tourism in the future. There are other good places to access aggregates above the dam,” Thompson said in her email.
Steven Cross, who has resigned as a Revelstoke city councillor effective February 7, said it was his motion at council to protect riparian areas, but it was only a direction to staff to come up with a bylaw to do so.
“So there is a gap there,” said Cross. “But my understanding from talking to staff at that time is that this is going to get done. So you’re [Jake and Jay] going to face that obstacle before the two years is up, I’m thinking.”
Cross asked Layco why, with so much opposition to the proposed gravel pits in what many consider a treasured area, Jake and Jay wouldn’t just pick a different area.
“I know you care about the town, I believe you do. And I know you’ve got to make a living, but this just seems ridiculous,” said Cross, who asked Layco what he felt his other options were.
Layco said he could explore options further away, but these would also likely also have wildlife and old growth. Layco also clarified that as far as the two proposed pits are concerned his primary choice is the Kirkup Road location, with Westside Road being the secondary preference.
Dan Willms said he spends a fair amount of time in the Jordan River area, but also recognizes there is a need for more gravel in Revelstoke.
“Personally, I’d like to see [the gravel pit] further out of the community. I recognize convenience is great right now, but for me personally I think it would be much better to push it out further away from the community,” said Willms.
Sarah Newton spoke to environmental concerns, saying a gravel pit could decimate the small bit of old growth forest that remains in the Jordan River area.
“It just seems illogical and I wish we didn’t have to have a rule, that we could just have some common sense and go ‘this is a special area close to town, let’s just leave it’,” said Newton.
Near the end of the hour-long meeting Layco was asked whether the comments made during the meeting would have any actual impact on his decision to move forward with the proposed gravel pit. Layco said that based on the feedback he had a lot to think about.
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