During a presentation to District of Summerland council Tuesday evening, Steve Lornie, the co-owner and president of the Okanagan Pad Crush and a member of the Garnet Valley Agri-Tourism Association, thanked Mayor Doug Holmes and members of council for their commitment to opposing the proposed gravel pit mining operation.
“All Summerlanders should appreciate your efforts,” he said.
Lornie said the proposed gravel pit would have a devastating effect on homes and businesses in the Garnet Valley area and he still can’t understand why the provincial government is moving forward with a project that has seen loud and consistent opposition from so many.
“Most of the reasons for opposing this pit are well known, but I will quickly run through them,” he said.
There will be a risk of injury or death to horse riders and pedestrians “on this narrow country road,” he said.
The gravel pit operation will also result in excessive amounts of dust, noise and other risks that currently don’t exist near the six adjacent homes located in the area of the gravel pit, he said.
“There will be a serious reduction in property values, especially adjacent to the pit,” he said. “There will be damage to the Garney Valley Road the taxpayers will eventually have to pay for.”
There will also be numerous environmental risks, including potential risk and harm to wildlife and water flowing through Eneas Creek, he said.
“Over the top of all this, is the sort of general deterioration of our beautiful Garnet Valley as and upcoming agri-tourism and recreational destination. After listing the above risks, you can see why we are encouraging council to keep up the pressure on the provincial government to cancel this permit.”
The Garnet Valley Agri-Tourism Association is taking its own action, he said.
They have hired a lawyer who will soon be filing an application for judicial review of the government’s decision to approve this project, he said.
“We have found a number of serious errors, omissions and outright falsehoods on how the permit application was handled and issued by the ministry, by incompetence, laziness, indifference or a combination of all three. This pit was approved despite the overwhelming opposition from the local community and that includes council, the chamber of commerce and many others.”
This project must be stopped and that will only happen through a continued concerted effort by all those who oppose this project, he said.
“We all need to be on board to stop it,” he said.
His group is committed to keeping up the political pressure once the upcoming provincial election, which takes place on Saturday, is over, he said.
The tourism association is open to any collaboration efforts to keep pressuring the government to overturn the decision approving this project, he said.
“I guess to finish off, here’s where we’re going to put something out to consider,” he said. “The Garnet Valley Agri-Tourism Association is proposing to council and the community at large that we review the Official Community Plan as it pertains to the current Garnet Valley zoning.”
The current agriculture and grazing zoning do not recognize the tremendous recreational and agri-tourism potential of the Garnet Valley area, he said.
There are now two attractive wineries, organic vegetable farms, hiking and biking trails, equestrian facilities and more, he said.
“We are becoming a major draw for healthy, family outdoor activities, but our zoning does put roadblocks in front of us,” he said.
Once the Trails of the Okanagan project is completed in the upcoming years, there will be hiking and biking trails directly from Summerland to Penticton and this will offer all sorts of recreational and agri-tourism opportunities, he said.
“We need to be ready for that, with a well thought out zoning category for Garnet Valley that will maintain the beauty and the charm of it,” he said. “There’s no big rush on this obviously, but we hope you can see the value of what we are suggesting and we are certainly ready to help.”
Coun. Janet Peake asked if the agri-tourism association leadership was working with any other group opposed to the gravel pit.
Lornie said they are working with the Trails of the Okanagan and leadership with the large and loyal equestrian community in Garnet Valley.
“I’m really pleased to see the kind of backing you have,” said Peake.
Coun. Doug Patan thanked Lornie and his group of putting in the hard work to show opposition to the gravel pit.
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