KELOWNA–An East Kelowna landowner says he wants to start hauling gravel off his property to make his land more suitable for farming. He says he wants to grow apples.
That gravel will be offered up for sale.
Nearby residents have fears about noise, dust and gravel trucks on neighbourhood roads.
“We’ve got kids on the road, this is a big equestrian area, people are riding their horses,” says Dean Loverin. “The number of dump trucks that are going to be on the road, the road breakdown, the road is not built to withstand the weight of a gravel truck.”
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Joanne Tuttosi has concerns about how the dust might affect the health of people with breathing problems, and she’s worried the work could affect the water supply.
“There are wells in the area. We don’t know what the site will do to the wells,” she says.
But the owner of the property in question says these worries are unfounded. He says the work won’t interfere with the water table and he’ll have water trucks on site to mitigate the dust.
“I really don’t understand what all the uproar is about. Nobody in the community has phoned me or asked for any information or anything. This has totally been blown out of control,” says Troy Turton.
According to the city council adgenda, Turton’s application is for 40,000 metric tonnes of gravel to be removed for agricultural reclaimation.
“There will be no crushers, no screeners. All we’re doing is getting rid of excess material to make the land arable for farming. That’s all we’re doing”
The city will consider giving its support to the application at its next council meeting on Monday.
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