Here we go again: Revelstokians could be about to see yet another dusty gravel pit established along Westside Road.
Revelstoke Sand & Gravel is proposing a sand and gravel mine and processing plant on provincially owned land at 274 and 322 Westside Road.
According to a report to be presented to Council by Development Services Manager Dean Strachan next Tuesday, it could receive a development permit if it meets the following conditions:
- The applicant is to have a registered professional biologist prepare a report on the subject property identifying any streams, water courses or other features requiring permitting and/or reporting to federal and/or provincial agencies; and
- The site plan and biologist report are to be included with the Development Permit as Schedule A.
The property is designated as Urban Reserve and is zoned RR60 – Rural Residential, 60 Hectare District.
The last gravel pit to open here — the 120-acre Westside Gravel Pit owned by Valley Blacktop — did so in 2010 and was vocally opposed by many people, in particular those living in Columbia Park directly across the river from it.
Please click here to read the report by Development Services Manager Dean Strachan.
You can find several stories about the Westside pit on The Current website by entering the search term “gravel pit” in the search field on the right-hand side of the front page.
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Major, major kudos to Ryan Buhler for single-handedly going to 12-Mile and cleaning up all the crap dumped there by irresponsible people.
In a visitor’s post on The Current’s Facebook page he said it took him “7 hrs and 4 lg bags to get it all cleaned up.”
The junk included shattered clay pigeons and other junk left behind by other people. All of this was visually documented with some vibrant photos by photographer Roland Lamare.
“Some of the pieces were very sharp as you can see in the photos,” Ryan said. “I hope it stays clean for a long time to come, I did some calls as well, anyone doing this down at 12-Mile or any other place can get up to $200,000 in fines and jail time.”
For weeks stories about people firing shotguns and acting in a very irresponsible manner have been floating around the community. At least one person thinks someone was even using explosives at 12-Mile.
Rene Huppe, proprietor of the Mulvehill Creek Wilderness Inn & Wedding Chapel which is located on Highway 23S directly across the Columbia from 12-Mile was at his wits’ end over the shooting and explosions he said he was hearing. It was particularly distressing because his guests wanted to enjoy the naturally serene quiet of the forests and meadows along the river.
Ryan’s post contains a series of photos that give you an idea of what he dealt with.
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Mayor Mark McKee and Councillor Gary Sulz happily showed their support for gay rights by marching with the Safe Spaces Society in the Canada Day Parade. But when it came to slapping a few rainbow-flag decals on municipal doors, our local civil servants quietly said no.
“Your request is considered to be equivalent to a proclamation,” Legislative Services Manager Teresa LeRose said in an e-mail to Social Development Director Jill Zacharias who helped the society get on its feet. “Please be aware that the City adopted a policy on June 22, 1998, discontinuing the practice of issuing proclamations.”
It should be noted here that the request to stick decals on municipal property was never seen by Council.
City Councils across the country are regularly inundated by requests to proclaim all kinds of things. Adopting a policy of not making proclamations keeps all of those requests at bay but the Safe Spaces Committee believes that the bureaucracy misunderstood the meaning of the decals.
“First and most importantly the rainbow flag represents diversity, which our community prides itself in,” Safe Spaces President Martin Ralph said in a letter to Council. “lt is not in and of itself a gay pride statement or proclamation, and was never historically intended to be such, though some incorrectly believe this. Secondly, displaying the rainbow flag indicates to the public, particularly members of the LGBTQ2S community, that this space is open, accepting, positive and safe.
“City Administration stated in their June 201 4 reply that “The City prides itself in maintaining its public buildings as a welcoming location for staff, customers, residents and visitors alike no matter their gender, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual or¡entat¡on, age and so forth.” While this is a positive and admirable policy, we know from experience that many members of the LGBTQ2S community do not yet share the confidence that this is true for them, hence the use of rainbow flag stickers. We also know from recent experience that several rainbow flag stickers have been defaced or removed in places where they appeared, and we have had to replace them. ln one location, more than once. This tells us that there are members of the community who also do not believe the C¡ty inclusion policy is true. Again, hence, why the use of the rainbow stickers is so important.
“Since we began sharing the rainbow flag stickers in public places over a year ago, I have received many positive responses from the public and travellers that Revelstoke is doing this! Some from the LGBTQ2S community who were extremely impressed with such a progressive activity in a small community.”
Please click here to read about this issue.
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The BC Wine Institute has reacted to news that Revelstoke City Council might consider a regulation that would prevent the sale of wine at any supermarket within one kilometre of an existing liquor store.
“As the true voice of the BC wine industry, I can tell you that we at the BC Wine Institute do not support this decision, and believe strongly that this move goes against the rights of the people of British Columbia, hurts BC family-owned wineries, and is directly undermining the public good faith under which these laws were developed,” Miles Prodan said in a letter to City Council during its July 28 meeting.
“The facts used to justify this amendment are shockingly incorrect, and are quite clearly deeply influenced by special interests that are simply seeking a last ditch effort to undermine provincial law.”
During its July 28 meeting Council considered a letter from Brady Beruschi asking it to “implement a minimum one-kilometre distance rule for all future beverage alcohol retailers in Revelstoke. This will help restrict liquor licenses for wine in grocery stores, protect small businesses and the people they employ, and provide necessary industry stabilization.”
The BC Wine Institute is the unified voice of BC’s $2 billion grape-growing and wine-making industry. It was created by the BC government 25 years ago.
Please click here to read his letter to City Council.
Please click here to read The Current’s original story about this issue.
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Council has decided to ask the Columbia Shuswap Regional District board of directors to approve a $15,000 grant from the Economic Opportunity Fund to help the Revy Riders Dirt Bike Club to develop a new trail at their trail facility off Westside Road.
The club has already raised $50,000 in grants from other institutions for their dirt bike trails.
A report to Council during its July 28 meeting by Community Economic Development Director Alan Mason said the project “will help deliver economic benefits to Revelstoke.”
“This request is similar to other requests that have been approved by Council from groups such as the Nordic Ski Club, the Snowmobile Club and the Revelstoke Ski Club,” Mason said in his report. “These clubs all requested funds to purchase equipment or develop facilities to help them host events which would attract tourists to Revelstoke.”
Council also approved a grant-in-aid of $1,522.74 to help defray its taxes.
Please click here to read about the Economic Opportunity Fund grant.
Please click here to read about the group’s grant-in-aid request.
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City crews will be in the Big Eddy doing hydrant flow testing starting next week. Testing will take place Tuesday – Thursday, August 11 – 13, from 7 am to 5 pm. This will result in residents experiencing dirty water and low pressure at times. Residents are encouraged to let their water run at the end of the day to clear the lines of the dirty water. A statement from the City said it apologizes for any inconvenience.
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Organizers for the Firefighters Burn Fund have a new social media project they hope will help them raise the $440,000 they need to complete the new Burn Fund Centre in Vancouver.
“The product is a purchasable ‘I Support Fire Fighters’ filter that gives people a way to both support the worthy cause of firefighters and a way to communicate that support to everyone,” fund organizers said. “Purchasing the filter and uploading it to your Facebook profile is quick and easy. And for those of you who like this product but want to give more, you can also purchase some lovely digital photos of real BC fire fighters. His and Hers.”
The Burn Fund Centre is to be a home-away-from-home for patients and families while undergoing treatment, on discharge transition or returning for follow up. The building will be located at 3891 Main Street (Main Street & E. 23rd Ave) between the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn, Trauma and Plastics Unit at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and BC Children’s Hospital.
Please click here to acquire your filter.
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