Valleyview and Hillcrest residents are steaming over the proposal to change the designation on a portion of the old Tank Farm from future residential to industrial/commercial.

A public hearing into the proposed amendment to the Official Community Plan (OCP) on Monday drew 68 written submissions, of which 56 expressed opposition, city council was told at its meeting on Monday.

Council heard nine of the submissions laid out concerns and three were in support of the application by P.S. Sidhu Trucking to change the designation under the OCP.

As council chambers are closed to visitors because of COVID-19, the public hearing was conducted by written submissions only.

Both the Valleyview and Hillcrest community associations have registered pointed and staunch opposition.

Many residents of the subdivisions argue the amendment would lead to further quarrying of gravel, and they’re extremely tired of it.

“Lately, it feels like this whole stretch along the Alaska Highway is turning into one big Industrial/Commercial zone which is/will increasingly have a negative impact on residents’ quality of life,” reads the submission from a resident of Hillcrest.

The Tank Farm lies between Valleyview and Hillcrest. It was established as a storage area for fuel being transported by pipeline from Skagway in 1942.

Reclamation began in the 1990s with the removal of the 24 large storage tanks. The Tank Farm was declared a contaminated site in 2011.

Sidhu Trucking purchased the 56-hectare property in 2012, and has been conducting soil remediation ever since.

Soil was removed and transported to a treatment area on-site. The accepted practice of treating soil contaminated by oil and gas is exposing the soil to air and sunlight.

The company has received a certification of compliance for the 7.6 hectares on the southeast corner, referred to as phase one of future development.

Many of the opposing submissions suggested the application is a veiled disguise to allow Sidhu Trucking to continue quarrying a commercial source of gravel in the area.

The application, it was noted, does require Sidhu Trucking to remove 750,000 cubic metres of material to match the elevation of the adjacent commercial-industrial lots along Wasson Place, which runs off Burns Road opposite Environment Yukon’s headquarters.

Both community associations and many of the area residents indicated they’ve already had their fill of noise, dust and heavy truck traffic as the company has continued site remediation of the Tank Farm over the last several years.

Allowing the OCP amendment on the 7.6-hectare southeast corner of the Tank Farm would create several more years of dust, noise and heavy truck traffic, they said, noting that 750,000 cubic metres are equivalent to 75,000 standard dump truck loads.

“In this case, is council aware that the proponent has been running a de facto quarry now for several years, using remediation of contaminated soils as the excuse for this operation?” reads the submission by the Hillcrest Community Association.

The association suggests now that Sidhu Trucking has received a certificate of compliance for remediation in the area in phase one, the company needs another reason to keep digging dirt – and creating the commercial-industrial lots is it.

Sidhu Trucking’s consultant, on the other hand, noted in his submission the extensive remediation work required for the southeast corner has left unstable banks and ground conditions.

Simon Lapointe of 3Pika said the additional excavation is needed to re-grade, stabilize the area and reduce the elevation to be compatible with the commercial-industrial lots on Wasson Place.

The material will be stored on another section of the Tank Farm and most of it will be used in its future development as a residential neighbourhood, Lapointe said in his submission.

While remediation of ground conditions through the rest of the Tank Farm have been completed, Lapointe noted, Sidhu Trucking still needs to continue monitoring ground water conditions to receive a certificate of compliance, which could take a few more years.

The existing ground water contamination does not pose a threat to human health nor the environment, says the submission.

In the meantime, says the submission by 3Pika, phase one is ready to go, and the most practical use of phase one is to match it up with the existing commercial-industrial lots on the adjacent Wasson Place.

Lapointe’s submission says an assessment of phase one concluded the phase one area is not suitable for residential purposes.

“For instance, adjacent land use includes semi-truck parking/rest area, card-lock refueling area, Alaska Highway Right of Way, heavy machinery storage areas, as well as poorly buffered airport noise,” says the submission by 3Pika.

Lapointe points out the excavated material will be transported to the storage area on a haul road through the Tank Farm with no requirement to use Sumanik Drive in Valleyview.

“Some public comments expressed the view that development of the Phase 1 area will result in quarrying activities taking place in the Phase 1 area, and Phase 2 area (Future Residential area), says the 3Pika submission.

“The proponent would like to clarify that the proposed development of the Phase 1 area is for commercial/industrial purposes, not quarrying.”

But a number of the opposing submissions argued that 75,000 truck-loads of material are far in excess of the gravel required to prepare the remaining Tank Farm area for residential development.

They suggest much of the stored material will end up in rock crushers producing specific-size aggregate to supply the commercial market with gravel.

The submission by the Hillcrest association says if the city were to call the proposed amendment to the OCP what it is, an application for a quarry, a portion of the phase one area would be in breach of the requirement that quarries maintain a 300-metre buffer to the nearest residence.

The Hillcrest association says before there is any consideration of an OCP amendment for the Tank Farm, there should be a master plan developed for the entire 56 hectares.

A letter signed by 72 Valleyview residents suggests the entire Tank Farm should remain as future residential development. They look forward to sharing the area with new neighbours.

But they are staunchly opposed to the proposed OCP amendment and what it would mean for the area.

“We appeal to you, Mayor and Council, in consideration of the OCP and Municipal mandate and their original intent, to respect the socio-economic rights and healthy environment of all citizens and reject the amendment,” says the submission.

There was also criticism of the city for moving forward with a public hearing during the COVID-19 crisis – when large gatherings have been prohibited.

There has been no opportunity to bring the residents of the two subdivisions together for a collective discussion of the proposal.

Some have suggested the public hearing process should be extended.