In what ends a 10-year chapter of the McLean Lake saga, city council has approved zoning for Territorial Contracting Ltd.'s concrete batch plant and quarry proposal.

Council's unanimous vote came Monday evening in the face of opposition from the public gallery.

Members of council said they had found no factual reason to deny company owner Ron Newsome his application and rezoned the area behind the Sleeping Giant Hill for industrial purposes.

In an interview moments later, Newsome said he believes council has done its homework.

'I think council is well-informed,' he told the Star.

Newsome said he will now continue on with the planning stages of his company's new batch plant and quarry, which include a development permit which must be obtained from the city.

Territorial Contracting Ltd.'s proposal met with fierce opposition over the past few years from members of the McLean Lake community, residents from other communities and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation.

Providing reasons for the decision prior to the official vote, council members said they had weighed all the evidence and made their decision based on fact, not emotion.

Mayor Bev Buckway said she feels she has been thorough in her research of Territorial Contracting's proposal. She believes the numerous territorial and federal regulations Newsome's plan would be subject to would protect the public.

'The batch plant and quarry will be governed by the Fisheries Act, the Environmental Act, the Yukon special waste regulations, the Waters Act, the quarry lease requirement and it will also follow a pit development plan and reclamation plan,' said the mayor.

'If residents of the Yukon do not believe that those regulatory bodies will protect us, and bear in mind that the same people that work within those regulatory requirements also live here, then we may as well shut the Yukon down,' Buckway said.

Coun. Jan Stick said she has been approached by a number of people for and against the batch plant. After reviewing all the facts, she said, she was voting in favour of the rezoning application.

'There's been so much information come in in terms of letters and e-mails. Between the councillors here themselves, we've looked at projects in other cities, similar circumstances and are trying to make a fair and thought-out decision.

'The proponent in this case has done his homework,' Stick said. 'He's gone through the steps he's supposed to, he's gotten the approvals he's supposed to. He does not require the water board to give him a permit for this.

'When it comes to council, we're being asked to approve zoning. I looked at all the information and I think I'm making a decision for all citizens of Whitehorse,' Stick said.

Coun. Jeannine Myhre responded to comments from the public that she openly opposed heavy industrial activity in residential and environmentally sensitive areas during last fall's election campaign. She said she doesn't believe Newsome's plan qualifies as heavy industry.

Myhre said she was voting in favour of the proposal because it would add a greater degree of environmental protection to Newsome's operations, not less.

'I believe a new up-to-date facility that is further away from open water sources will be more environmentally responsible than having the existing facility continue to operate in closer proximity to Ear Lake,' she said.

After looking into other cases with concrete batch plants close to or next to communities, Myhre said, she has not seen any evidence to show that such an operation would be detrimental to the environment.

'However, I would also like to note that I would oppose rezoning this area for heavy industrial or for asphalt,' she said.

Coun. Dave Austin said he was also supporting the project because he believes if it was done correctly, the public would not be negatively affected.

'A project like this, if it's done right, is not a problem. How can it be done right if we don't give him a chance to do it?' Austin asked.

'I've said from day one: any problems that can come from a plant like this we can deal with in a development permit. I firmly believe that.

'Another thing I've heard here (Monday night) two or three times is that this comes down to one man's profit. Since when is it a crime to make a living?' Austin asked.

Coun. Doug Graham said he was voting in favour of the proposal based on factual evidence, not emotional arguments.

'The facts seem to have been lost in the whole process. I have seen pictures brought to us here in council with smoke pouring out and people saying, You can expect this,' Graham said.

'We know there's not going to be any smoke pouring out of a concrete batch plant. We know that the greatest environmental concern with a concrete batch plant is the dust produced from the crushing, and crushing operations that already exist here will far outweigh anything that this one does,' he said.

Graham said he remembers controversy surrounding Ear Lake when concrete batch plant operations were slated to go in there. Fears the operation would harm the environment ended up being unfounded, he said.

'We've done a number of water tests out there and we've found that those two concrete batch plants haven't had any effect on water quality out there whatsoever,' he said.

Graham said he's visited a number of communities in Canada that have concrete batch plants in close proximity to residential areas. He sees no reason not to allow Newsome's proposal to move forward.

'We have a place in Dawson Creek where residential areas have built up next to the concrete batch plant because land was available so to say that this concrete batch plant will adversely affect new residential development in the area just doesn't ring true after seeing those examples,' Graham said.

He said he also doesn't agree with residents that McLean Lake is the city's primary environmental jewel.

'I see the real environmental reserve in the city of Whitehorse being the Chadburn Lake and Long Lake area,' Graham said. 'We have to do the best we can with the McLean Lake area.'

Coun. Dave Stockdale said he also remembers the Ear Lake debate, as well as other controversies such as the elimination of wetlands to build the Wal-Mart store several years ago and the paving of 12th Avenue in Porter Creek many years ago. He said he was voting in favour of the proposal based on the evidence and his political experience.

Stockdale is the longest-serving councillor in Whitehorse history, having first been elected in 1983.

'I came to the conclusion that I looked at other decisions that we've made at council which were based on information that we require. I believe we are well-informed, we've read all the reports we've had all the input and we've listened to all the people's complaints and they've been addressed,' he said.

'We could go on forever and ever arguing these points but there has to come a point in time when you have to make a decision.'

Stockdale said council has also reviewed other locations for quarrying operations but those too met with opposition.

He said he doesn't believe the Sleeping Giant Hill proposal would harm the environment.

'I don't believe it will destroy the lake; Ear Lake wasn't destroyed. I may be proved wrong but I won't be alive to see it. If it's my legacy, then well, too bad,' he said.

Coun. Florence Roberts said she is happy that members of the public had exercised their democratic rights and that she hoped people would continue to participate in public affairs.

'I hope more people are more diligent in coming out and listening to all the facts.' she said.

'I think all the facts have been heard. I'm supporting this as well,' she said.