The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors have decided to take Pan Pacific Aggregates to court over land use.
At a July 7 infrastructure committee meeting, directors voted unanimously to pursue immediate legal action against the mining company for using a weigh scale and crusher in what the SCRD says are the wrong zones. The board was to finalize the committee decision at its July 14 meeting, past Coast Reporter deadline. But SCRD chair Ed Steeves was confident the board would uphold the committee's decision.
"We are of the opinion they are contravening a zoning bylaw and therefore it's our duty to enforce," Steeves said. "We're just waiting to see how the board handles it on Thursday night, then we'll go from there."
If passed, the next step is for SCRD lawyers to proceed with legal action.
"Our process now is to take it to the court and see what Pan Pacific's reaction will be to it," Steeves said. "There's no malice, we're just enforcing our bylaw."
Administrator Doug Holmes said the SCRD has had candid discussions with Pan Pacific over zoning.
"We have communicated to them that we believe they're in contravention of zoning," Holmes said.
Pan Pacific's compound at the end of Mason Road is in an agricultural land reserve zone, which doesn't allow for the existing weigh scales and vehicle repair, maintenance and storage, according to SCRD planner Judy Skogstad. As well, the processing with a crusher at the southern mine site is only allowed in certain industrial zones, which this site is not, Skogstad said.
The recourse for violating zoning is to go through the courts to ask the company to comply.
"They haven't indicated a willingness so far to do it," Skogstad said. "The end result is to get them to either rezone or relocate."
But if the company were to apply for rezoning, the application would have to go through public hearings before going before the board.
Skogstad added the SCRD is still seeking information on permits from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
Pan Pacific spokeswoman Gayle Bukowsky maintained they are allowed to be there.
"They have to do what they have to do," Bukowsky said in a phone interview July 13. "Our advice is we're absolutely within our rights."
Pan Pacific's mine manager Jim Balmer said as for the agricultural land reserve zone, the courts would need to make a legal definition as to which ministry has precedence, and whether permitted activities under the Mines Act supersede local zoning.
'I guess we'll find out through the courts," Balmer said. "As far as the Ministry of Energy and Mines is concerned, we're doing nothing wrong."
He said the ministry told him the courts have ruled in past cases the crushing of rocks is not considered processing. Therefore, he says the crusher would not need to be in a zone allowing processing. However, he couldn't cite specific court cases.
Balmer said the company is properly permitted to carry out activities, but said he had not researched the local zoning bylaws.
