Rocky View County residents hoping to speak at the resumed public hearing on a rezoning application for a gravel pit north of Cochrane on Hwy. 567 were outraged when they were denied the right.

On June 27, RVC council gave first two readings to allow the rezoning of the land to a Natural Resource Industrial District from Ranch and Farm District. Third reading failed when the majority were in favour but it did not receive the required unanimous consent.

Prior to this, Councillor Jerry Arshinoff attempted to have the matter once again tabled in order to comply with the original motion of a year ago to delay a decision until the completion of an Aggregate Resoucre Plan (ARP). Attempts to allow further public input on the narrow scope of delaying a decision until the completion of the ARP was also denied by a 5-4 vote.

Bill Corbett, of Rocky View Gravel Watch, stormed out of the meeting and another man was threatened to be removed when he spoke from the gallery. A break was called to setttle the crowd, many of whom had come expecting to be able to speak.

No further discussion, nor new information was accepted for the public hearing, though, and Reeve Greg Boehlke explained the mandated process was followed to the letter.

"Just because you're here today doesn't give you the right to speak again," he told the man in the crowd before asking security to escort him from the chambers, though in the end it wasn't required.

Later when the meeting was reconvened, Boehlke explained, "This hearing has gone through it's legislative process and should we deviate from the process we stand libel, on either way. So if anyone feels that they have been slighted by this I apologize because that's not our intent, it's never our intent to slight anybody from the public."

Chris Koebisch, whose family resides right across the highway from where the garvel pit is proposed, was one of those expecting to be able to speak. His family has been in objection to the development from day one.

"Public opinion by these councillors seems to not to be valued very highly, as you can see by what they have said," said Koebisch during the recess. "Eighteen hundred is an astronomical amount of people, it's not just a couple of people who have concerns."

Koebisch has numerous concerns and among them are health issues and the number of gravel pit operations that will be established in close proximity should all applicants be approved.

Dust is one of the issues and points to the example of how quickly it spread when gravel was being dropped on Range Road 40.

"Just those six trucks produced so much dust that I literally watched it go through hundreds of metres of trees and if these councillors think a little berm is going to stop the dust from getting over it and affecting other people who are living in the area, it's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous."

Following a public hearing on June 14, 2016, division 9 councillor Bruce Kendall tabled a decision until the completion of the Agreggrate Resource Plan (ARP), expected within a year. With that plan now projected to take until as late as March 2018 to complete he believed it was only right for the matter to be lifted from the table.

While there are county residents opposed to the plan, a petition was also received signed by 55 people in support of the proposal.

"Today wasn't a debate about the ARP," says Kendall. "This is a forum to deal with somebody who made an application in 2015 and has the right to be heard. We did not meet the commitment we made so I think it's only fair to give them the opportunity to move their application forward."

Councillor Arshinoff, however, disagrees and believes awaiting the ARP is reasonable and what council originally agreed upon.

"I don't know why administration brought it back completely contrary to council's motion, although the obviously the majority of council didn't object," says Arshinoff, "but what makes it even more incredulous is that in administraton's own report today they do say the current guidelines for aggregate are insufficent and they are quite poor."

He says the plan is taking time to complete so many residents have voiced their opinions.

"Obviously residents really care, that's why it's taking so long. That should be all the more reason for council and administration to realize the importance of not accessing any gravel pit or any such similar thing until we have an aggregate plan. To wait at the latest until the end of March--it's not 10 years--is quite reasonable. Many people have said it has taken them to take 2 1/2 years just to get a business licence."

While the rezoning is all but assured, residents will have the right to speak out when the company applies for a development permit, points out Kendall.

"Now they have to get a development permit, which is appealable by the neighbours and they can address any issues that they believe are legitimate issues that the gravel company needs to address."

In the meantime, two more public hearings are expected to be held for other gravel pit rezoning applications in July.