Dear Mr. Clovechok (MLA Columbia River Revelstoke),
This letter is in response to your statement on the Marysville Benchlands in the Kimberley Bulletin, Wednesday, January 17, 2018. While I respect your statement that this is a municipal issue, I am writing to see if you can offer support and assist with a provincial matter.
The issue:
The Sullivan Mine was the lifeblood of the community for 100+ years. The City of Kimberley prospered, as did the Province of British Columbia and the Federal Government with healthy tax revenue. The mine has been closed for 16 years and Kimberley has made the transition to a tourism economy. The population is growing, arts and culture are vibrant in the community, plus it offers world class recreation opportunities. A bedroom community to Cranbrook, it is becoming a very desirable place to live. City Council is working to attract light industry to offset tax revenue previously supplied by Teck-Cominco, to diversify the local economy and to meet infrastructure demands. The successful Sun Mine project, using brownfield industrial lands, demonstrates real coordination between the City, Province, and numerous other stakeholders.
The problem is the lack of land available for industrial use. For approximately 20 years the City has been trying to get developable land released from the contaminated sites in order to work with Teck on possible future land uses. From what I understand, the hold up has been with the provincial government. This is where we need your help to bring this issue forward.
The Benchland:
The only city owned land accessible for future industrial development is the area known as the Benchlands, located on the south side of Jim Ogilvie Way, and consequently directly above the heads of those residing in the community of Marysville, a neighbourhood of roughly 1,000 people, and 6 km from town centre. There was little or no controversy from the people when Minister Heyman toured the Benchland parcel on October 12, 2017. But in November, 2017, there was a motion to change the zoning on the 24 acre parcel from Residential (2005 OCP) to Industrial (2017 Draft OCP). The motion was passed by Council, due to the lack of alternative land to develop. The City is now waiting for an environmental certificate on the Benchland from the province. Since this time, the proposed land use is causing controversy.
Because the un-serviced Benchland sits directly above Marysville, residents are very concerned about the many negative impacts industrial activity may impose. Impacts include the degradation of a well-used, fully accessible trail (nationally syndicated Volksmarch), the loss of beautiful views that have formed the Marysville landscape, the loss of a rare ecosystem including ponderosa pine bunch-grass, upsetting a natural wildlife corridor, loss of trees that act as a natural buffer from the Transfer Station and road to the community directly below, devaluation of property values, as well as the more common concerns of noise, increased traffic and night light issues. The City plan is to keep the Volksmarch Trail running through it, however the VABC President has expressed concern that the Volksmarch Trail in Kimberley, that has been in place for almost 30 years, would likely be discontinued if bordered or running near an industrialized area. I realize this is not your jurisdiction, but demonstrates the urgency for developable land.
Other Industrial Areas:
There is developable land on the north side of Jim Ogilvie Way, owned by Teck. There is approximately 300 acres (123 Ha) of land, brownfield, with approximately one third of it bordering access to a water and sewer line that runs north/south through the land. It is earmarked for Industrial use. This land should be subdivided and given high priority for development since it is already serviced and is on useable land. I understand the land is not otherwise contaminated as previous use was storage and buildings. It is conveniently located on the opposite side of the road from the Benchland and away from the community. The goal is and should be to use previously disturbed sub-divided land as soon as possible for new industry (working with Teck) and open up many possibilities for future growth. Although zoning is a municipal issue, the land in itself is a provincial jurisdiction and directly related to our economy.
The remaining land surrounding that mentioned above, has the potential to share the benefits of power being generated off the Sun Mine, although not as readily available due to its level of contamination. The City of Kimberley has said the vision is to have a world class industrial park powered by solar. Clean energy could attract high technology companies and good paying jobs. The workforce will diversify British Columbia’s economy, workers will have access to world class tourism amenities and affordable home ownership. The province has so much to gain by working with Teck and the City on these lands.
Can you please look into the holdup of releasing previously used, clean industrial sites from contaminated sites so the City can move forward with Teck? Land available for industrial development is needed now and it’s already serviced. There is road access so what are we waiting for? This is a land issue that has been in the provincial government’s hands for almost two decades. As our locally elected MLA, please help by taking this matter forward as a high priority for the people in your riding.
Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sherri Kearns