Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Vince Fedoroff

GRAVEL SOURCE SOUGHT – The Da Daghay Development Corp. is proposing to use this parcel of land just off the Alaska Highway between Burns Road and Sumanik Drive as a future source of gravel. The settlement land is owned by the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.

Public meeting set for proposed quarry

A First Nation development corporation will look to further its proposal for a gravel quarry in the Hillcrest-Valleyview area in the coming months, in hopes to have it considered by the city later this year.

By Palak Mangat on August 10, 2018

A First Nation development corporation will look to further its proposal for a gravel quarry in the Hillcrest-Valleyview area in the coming months, in hopes to have it considered by the city later this year.

That’s according to Ben Asquith, the Da Daghay Development Corp.’s CEO.

He told the Star earlier this week nothing has yet been formally submitted to the city nor territorial government.

The Ta’an Kwäch’än Council-owned corporation is set to host a meeting early next week to hear from community members of nearby Hillcrest and Valleyview.

That’s based on preliminary concern the corporation is already aware of about trucks filtering in and out under existing activity around the area. It includes the one-time site of a tank farm that sits between the Hillcrest and Granger neighborhoods.

As reported in 2007, there was a proposal to make residential lots available in the area, with Whitehorse businessman Mike Mickey and his partner on the project, Paramjit Sidhu of Sidhu Trucking, backing the proposal.

While there haven’t been any formal concerns shared with the corporation yet, Asquith said “just based on the current environment right now, I don’t think they’re too happy with what’s happening.”

His comments come after Hillcrest residents raised concerns about the noise, traffic and dust in their neighborhood.

“I think just in general, people that have had green spaces beside them aren’t too keen to be seeing a gravel quarry go there,” Asquith said, noting the hours of operations may be a concern too.

“There’s demand for gravel,” he said, adding that Da Daghay sent out a notice to neighbours in good faith and to get ahead of the game.

The operation of the quarry will be in the meantime, “with land development happening in the future,” it reads.

The notice continues that the intent is for production to be restricted to weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. during the one month of production.

Still, Asquith was clear in the council’s obligation.

“It’s not consulting; we’re not required to consult on this – but we want to be proactive and get out to the community.”

The area falls under the First Nation’s settlement land.

However, in hopes of being a good neighbour, it wants to do its due diligence in speaking to residents beforehand – that is, before submitting anything formally (which Asquith said is likely to happen in September).

That could allow the First Nation to say “we’ve done our homework and feel our plan is going to identify those concerns,” Asquith said.

He noted this has been on the radar of the council for years now, which means that it has had time to do more preparation.

Asquith cited that with “the assumption in the general public (being that) that land was contaminated,” a geotechnical survey and study was done a couple of years ago which showed little contamination.

The area, which includes a parcel of land that the notice points out the development corporation obtained a long-term lease for in 2015 from TKC, is zoned currently as residential.

But it continues that it cannot be developed at the existing level since it’s in the flight paths of the airport and would pose a navigational hazard prohibited by Transport Canada.

All the materials will have to be excavated and removed, Asquith said, adding “so we’re just doing that first step.”

Part of that step will include getting the zoning changed to industrial/commercial and a change in designation in the city’s Official Community Plan (OCP), the note reads.

“Then we’re looking at supplying high-quality gravel to government and private businesses, and that meets our mandate with supporting economic growth.”

Eventually, it is expected to make its way through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board, during which the council will be the ultimate decision body, according to the notice.

Meanwhile, a city spokesperson explained that temporary gravel quarries can operate under a number of designations.

Ben Campbell, a city planner, noted that the site of the old tank farm is designated under residential urban, but it did go through OCP amendments in about 2012 “to enable temporary remediation” and a quarry.

“If the proposed development for the Ta’an parcel is for a quarry, that would also require an amendment to OCP.”

While the city hasn’t received anything formally yet, Campbell said, he added that some quarries also operate under the natural resources designation.

Speaking more generally, he said “it may also make sense to change the actual land use designation to something not residential,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean that if it is residential, it cannot have a temporary quarry (like the old tank farm).

Still, Asquith said that could take some time.

“It could take up to a year, so the opportunity cost is huge,” he said, noting the project has been on the council’s radar for a number of years now.

Campbell said that while the process of going through an OCP amendments and zoning change can vary based on council, it can generally take a number of months.

The notice continues that preparation of the site and initial gravel production could begin in July of 2019 and is restricted to one month per year.

“This type of development helps the city and YG by providing a reliable centralized source of gravel,” Asquith said, noting the cost of transportation can be high.

He said the corporation has spent money on geotechnical drilling, and the future use of the site is expected to be more than a decade.

“We’re looking at about 15 years of life for providing gravel to the market, and then land will be ready for development,” he explained.

That can change depending on the demand for gravel, the notice points out, and can bump up the quarry’s lifespan to upwards of 20 years.

“It’s a great strategic location to develop on,” Asquith said, noting that holding an information/open house meeting is a good way to get the ball rolling.

“We’re just checking the boxes and doing what we’re told,” he said, explaining that some preliminary albeit informal discussion with the city has taken place.

Meanwhile, Campbell acknowledged that while there discussions dating back to about the winter of 2017, much of it focused on the process of submitting a proposal and what would be required. Asquith maintained there was conversation dating back to at least 2016.

For his part, the CEO remains hopeful that residents will be able to voice their concerns come next week.

“I think we’re going to have to deal with a lot of people that are upset about current operations of another company,” he sighed, but after speaking with some city officials, the corporation confirmed that being proactive would be the best route to take.

With that and a First Nations development corporation like Da Daghay taking on the pit, he said he expects and hopes there will be limited pushback from governments.

Campbell confirmed he knew of the event next week: “We’re aware that there’s a meeting that’s proposed.”

Still to be determined about the project are logistical details like: orientation, site layout, access and operations of the site, the notice to neighbourhoods added.

Meanwhile, a member of the Hillcrest Community Association confirmed that it had received an invitation to Monday’s event, which is to be held between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.

Comments (14)

Up 2 Down 6

CJ on Aug 15, 2018 at 11:51 pm

Maybe someone is using Matthew Mehaffey's name to comment.

Up 10 Down 4

Just Sayin' on Aug 15, 2018 at 4:37 pm

@Uptight
I thoroughly enjoyed your assumption. Born and raised; Canadian to the core, who believes in true equality, not forced equality.
Thank you for providing me with my daily giggle though.
I was using a simple analogy. In hindsight, it may have been too complicated for you, as you took it literally . Perhaps, I should use some crayons and draw you a picture.

Up 5 Down 13

Uptight on Aug 14, 2018 at 4:43 pm

Just say'N if your notion of reconciliation is taking a ball from a child and giving it to another child then I am ashamed to think you're Canadian. I'm surprised you passed the immigration standard but what the hell, illegal immigration has been happening centuries and nobody gets deported.

Up 9 Down 6

Bobby Bitman on Aug 14, 2018 at 3:58 pm

PS - If anyone is going to be having a gravel pit in the geographic center of Whitehorse, I would like it to be the First Nations. I would be happy to see them succeed. I would hope that a process examining impacts on the ecology of the area will be worked out. I note however that a lot of mining goes on in this territory which obliterates everything around it so it would be pretty hard to say no to a gravel pit proposed by a band, on their own land.

Up 14 Down 1

Bobby Bitman on Aug 14, 2018 at 3:52 pm

Matthew Mehaffy, that was the most unprofessional splatter of verbal diarrhea I've read in a long time. I wonder if the law firm you work for knows what a loose cannon you are. I went to their website and read about their principles of integrity, collegiality, collaboration, and pragmatic solutions. I give you points for personal integrity for using your real name. That's about it!

Up 24 Down 4

Dave on Aug 14, 2018 at 6:32 am

Wow, Matthew you really drank the koolaid didn't you? I don't see any oppressed people in Whitehorse or Yukon, as a matter of fact I see the exact opposite in that there is a segment of the population that enjoy many rights the rest of us don't have and don't remember agreeing to give up. But you go on playing the oppressed/ oppressor card, it's going to be interesting to see how long it can be flogged for all its worth.

Up 14 Down 1

dmz on Aug 13, 2018 at 10:59 pm

@Matthew Mehaffey, they haven't jumped through any hoops here at all yet. The required hoops are the same as every other developer. Like every other developer, the spokesperson here seems to think that having the idea is jumping through the hoops. Well, it's not. And if you think anyone at all of any ancestry has no problem when the system is "gamed", you're not really paying attention.

Up 10 Down 2

north_of_60 on Aug 13, 2018 at 4:51 pm

'People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.'--Walter Langer

Up 9 Down 5

rickrux on Aug 13, 2018 at 3:55 pm

Did the tank farm have a public meeting ??

Up 24 Down 4

Just Sayin' on Aug 13, 2018 at 1:12 pm

@ Matthew Mehaffey.

Speak for yourself. I did no such thing.

Hoops that FN, must jump through are the same hoops that organizations must go through; right, equality?? In reality FN do have an easier time to go through these process(s), they must be consulted on any YESABB consultation, WCB is not allowed on any works being completed on FN land, by an FN organization which is pretty sad. Workers should be covered everywhere and their safety ensured, but apparently not. Oh and let's not forget reconciliation; taking the ball from one kid and giving it to another, does not allow all kids to play, allows a demographic to play which further perpetuates the divisiveness in society.

Please detail these hoops you say the FN must jump through.

Furthermore, if one's application regardless of ethnicity, is not sufficient to a standard other(s) hold, then objection is allowed. Calling one a bigot because they may object to an issue they may see is ignorant.

I do find it amusing how land stewards who receive transfer payments now, want to sell portion of their lands for gain. Beads, money, same thing.

Up 7 Down 9

Karanvir on Aug 13, 2018 at 1:01 pm

What a great read! Truly amazingly written, Palak Mangat seems to be a rising star in the journalism world. Wish her all the best!

Up 23 Down 6

Max Mack on Aug 13, 2018 at 10:57 am

And now we know why the FN opposed Norcope's quarry plan.

Up 18 Down 4

ProScience Greenie on Aug 12, 2018 at 5:06 pm

Da Daghay has to develop a better sensitivity training policy if the Mehaffey posting here is the same Mehaffey that sits on their board.

Up 23 Down 5

Josey Wales on Aug 11, 2018 at 2:59 pm

Beating the war drums are ya Matthew?
Some heavily load words on events yet to happen, dissent at this “meeting”?
Balance...if permissible?
Your origins whatever they are, may be important to you...just not me.
Enjoy your equity gravel, and your meeting, fear not Matthew the PC Crusaders will support it.
The meeting of potentially “racist bigots” is just a formality, rocks will be harvested!
Now that I fed ya, under the bridge...the troll bridge.

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.