The city has taken a step closer to expanding its quarry in the McLean Lake area and signing off on a new lease for the site with the Yukon government.

At Monday’s city council meeting, members passed first reading to rezone 3.7 hectares of land from Future Planning (FP) and Greenbelt (PG) to Quarries (IQ) as part of an overall expansion that would add a total of 8.8 ha to the current site.

If the rezoning of the FP and PG areas do not go ahead, the expansion area would be limited to 5.1 ha.

The expansion site is already designated as Industrial in the Official Community Plan.

The areas up for rezoning had been zoned as Undesignated Rural.

That was changed in 2012, when the bylaw was rewritten and many Undesignated Rural sites were changed to FP with a few getting the PG zone.

In a report to council, Mélodie Simard, the city’s planning and sustainability manager, noted “there is significant existing vegetation surrounding the subject area and the existing PG zoned area does not warrant protection and is more valuable to the city as a quarry.”

The expansion proposal has already gone through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board review, with no additional recommendations coming forward on the quarry.

With first reading of the rezoning passed, a public hearing on it will be held at council’s April 23 meeting, with a report to follow a week later. Second and third readings are expected to come forward May 7.

The proposed lease agreement, for which council approved the first two readings on Monday night, includes the expanded lease area.

Pat Ross, the city’s manager of lands and building services, explained in an earlier report to council: “It has been determined that the existing lease area contains limited reserves of aggregate causing the City to request a larger lease area.

“A larger lease area will allow continued aggregate extraction while maintaining the City’s existing work patterns and stockpile locations.

“The lease area enlargement has been subject to a Yukon Land Application, Yukon Socio-economic Assessment Act review, and council is currently considering a zoning bylaw amendment concurrently with this lease request.

“A current operation and rehabilitation plan has been provided to Yukon government through the lease application process.”

The updated lease would cost the city $150 annually and be in place until Nov. 30, 2022 with a five-year renewal option included.