Potholes in the City's Asphalt Dealings: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

    
It is fair to say both Rolling Mix and Columbia Bitulithic are being asked to fall on the sword for the noise and problems coming from the new Pittman Asphalt plant on Ottway Road.

In the early 70’s when the people of the day went to Council to complain about the operation of Columbia the company undertook to try and clean up its act.  To its credit, until this year, Columbia Bitulithic hasn't made the news for many years. Columbia constructed a berm, reduced the noise from the site.  That in itself, while not a cure, has been sufficient for their neighbors across the river.

Rolling Mix is in a much different situation.  It has a natural cover with the railway, trees, and a berm from Ottway Road. They also have not been subject to any criticism in recent years.

So that leaves two players, Center City Paving, and Pittman Asphalt.

Center City has run a small operation along Ottway for a number of years. That leaves only Pittman Asphalt as the major player.

The argument City Hall has been handing out that the area was zoned to accommodate asphalt plants back in 1967, is simply not true, I repeat not true .

Columbia was zoned for its plant back in that year, but that was the only section along Ottway that was.

As a matter of fact, the City Council of the day in and around 1974, turned down a request for a zoning change from Star Paving who wanted to move operations into this city.  

In 1980 the then City Council changed the official community plan and allowed the heavy industrial zoning needed to allow asphalt plants all along Ottway, there was no zoning in place prior to that year.

Now when the city made that zoning change, it did so without any regard for the zoning that it had adopted which called for  residential development on both sides of Foothills from the North Nechako Road to the River which would have a population of about 3500 to 4500 people and would include a major shopping center along the east side of Foothills. The argument of the day was that the city needed (and rightfully so) to begin to infill the areas of the city that had no homes.

Well the development along Highway 16 west had not begun at that time and the city sprawl that has taken over P.G. (adding to the cost of roads and services) did not receive much, if any, attention beyond some lip service.

So what if the area in question had been developed and 3500 people were now before Council to complain?  The zoning is grandfathered, there is nothing that can be done to change that except perhaps a big wad of cash.

The problem should not have existed in the first place except for some future planning by the City Council (some of whom are still around) that had about as much foresight as the three blind mice.

Can the City change the situation?  Of course it can.  The companies in question must obtain a permit to remove the gravel every year, no permit, no grade extraction.  So to say they don’t have a way out is rubbish.

But now why deliver the hammer to a couple of companies who have for the most part towed the line?  Both Rolling Mix and Columbia have done their bit.  If on the other hand the City wants to up the standards, then fire away, but make them equal for all.

Now as to the pollution problem, lets not kid ourselves.  We have gone to the extent of stopping Grammas from baking a pie, stopped people from having a weiner roast , and are now being told not to idle our vehicles in the winter,  but we can’t address the problems of pollution from industry that are staring us in the face?

The City has been, and continues to be, afraid to stand up to industry for what ever reason.  There never seems to be a problem when it comes to taking on a homeowner, or mom and pop operation.

The rank and file in the meantime must live with ever increasing restrictions on how they treat the environment while the real polluters stand back and laugh.

Industry will only do what it is forced to do because the bottom line dictates. The handling of the asphalt plants is a prime example.

I’m Meisner and that is one man’s opinion.

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