A group of Pipeline Road residents fear that zoning changes to a nearby property could pave the way for cement operations on the Coquitlam River, a notion adamantly denied by the gravel and concrete operator who owns the land.
Bedrock Granite Services Ltd., a stone-cutting business, has been located on the east side of Pipeline since 1986 on land that is leased to the company by Allard Contractors Ltd. A few years ago, it was discovered that Bedrock is not in compliance with current city zoning bylaws, which stipulates the company can only cut stones extracted from the land on which the business sits.
Now, the city is working to amend the zoning bylaw to bring the company into compliance.
But language in a staff report stating the changes would allow for the "manufacturing of concrete products" has neighbours up in arms.
"[Bedrock] doesn't do cement products," said Bonnie Norquay, whose family has lived up the road from the property for 47 years. "If it was strictly Bedrock behind this, why include the cement?"
She and several of her neighbours, including Jeannie Dmytronetz and Ingrid Heldt, fear that Allard Contractors may have its eye on the property for future gravel and cement production. If that is the case, Norquay said, it would put a major industry on the shore of the Coquitlam River.
Jim Allard, vice-president of Allard Contractors, called residents' assertions that a ready-mix plant could be located on the Bedrock site "a fairy tale."
In order to put cement operations at 1875 Pipeline Rd., he said, the land would have to be re-zoned to M4 industrial from its current A3 agricultural, a change that is not likely to happen given the property's proximity to the Coquitlam River.
"That is an absolute red herring," he said. "There is no way you could put a ready-mix plant there without rezoning the land."
LEGAL CASES 'ALL OVER THE MAP'
He noted that his company will be spending $1 million to $2 million to construct a building that will mitigate noise from the Bedrock site, something neighbours have also complained about.
If council does not approve the zoning changes, Allard said it could have ramifications for all of the businesses on Pipeline Road. For example, his company produces cement made from material trucked in from other properties, something that may not be allowed under the current zoning rules, he said.
"If we could only manufacture concrete from the material at that site, nobody would ever be allowed to do anything," he said, adding that the "legal cases are all over the map."
Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam's manager of development services, confirmed that the changes before council would not allow for concrete production at 1875 Pipeline Rd. The language in the staff report only means that Bedrock can cut pieces of concrete manufactured on outside properties, he said.
Asked about a business not complying with zoning over a number of years, he said in the past, local government had little authority over mines, which were regulated under the provincial Mining Act. Over the years, however, a series of legal interpretations and court decisions have allowed cities to narrow the scope of what types of activities can occur on properties where resource extraction is taking place.
McIntyre said it is likely the zoning changes were made to the Bedrock property without anyone realizing the company would be in non-compliance.
"These things evolve over time," he said. "We don't go out actively looking for non-compliance. Something may be operating under the radar. Then, when the complaints come in, the city is duty-bound to deal with it."
A public hearing on the zoning amendment is scheduled to take place in council chambers at Coquitlam city hall on Monday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.
