Plans for a proposed gravel quarry turn to rubble at Whitehorse council meeting

Whitehorse city council rejected plans for a gravel quarry at a council meeting this week.

The proposal was first brought to council in March by Doug Gonder, the owner of NorcopeConstruction. He wanted to develop the quarry near the junction of the Alaska Highway and Robert Service Way.

"We obviously need more gravel sites. I think the city themselves are running out,"Gondersaid onMonday night.

In March, city council said it was concerned about the quarry's proposed location.

City officials said it was too close to Ta'anKwch'n and Kwanlin Dn residential development lands, which interfered with the city's required 300-metre buffer between quarries and residential areas.

To develop at the proposed location, the city would have to amend the official community plan with a bylaw. And both First Nation governments wrote letters saying they didnot support the proposed amendment.

Frustrated with the process

When the amendment was first proposed, city administration recommended the application be defeated, but Gonder requested time to adjust his application and address the city's concerns.But the changes weren't enough.

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At the council meeting, city staff said the development of a quarry at that location would have made future development of the site unfeasible.

After the meeting, Gonder said he is frustrated by the result and by the process. He said it was the city's planning department that directed him to this location initially.

"And what I find real puzzling is that you're working between administration that's working against you, while you paid your fee to go ahead and get your application started in the first place," said Gonder.

"So we've expended a gigantic amount of cost and time to this point."