The city has reached a proposed agreement with the owners of the Dolime Quarry to shut down quarry operations, remediate the land and eventually turn it into residential or mixed use.
Under the proposal, the City of Guelph would also annex the 230-acre property from Guelph-Eramosa Township.
There is no timeline at this point for when the quarry would shut down or when it would be developed. Also unknown is the cost.
Several levels of regulatory approval at both the local and provincial level would be needed.
The proposed deal was announced at a press conference at city hall on Tuesday morning.
The city will now move forward with public and stakeholder engagement before city staff return to council early in 2020 with final details and recommendation for them to vote on.
First and foremost, city officials said Monday, the move would protect Guelph’s drinking water.
The city has had ongoing concerns that the quarry operations are affecting the quality and quantity of the city’s water supply.
“This is something that has been a long time coming,” mayor Cam Guthrie said. “We wanted to make sure that from the start of this, it was all about the quantity and quality of the water for the community. That’s never wavered.
“This is a very positive solution for everyone.”
The deal could end a dispute with the quarry owner that has been going on for years, with both sides having already spent roughly $1.5 million on the dispute.
Deputy CAO Kealy Dedman said the issue was complex and getting to a solution was not easy.
It started in the 1990s when testing showed that the city was drawing water from the same source that was being used by the quarry.
Quarry operations, Dedman said, would limit how much water the city could draw from wells.
Later the city said legal quarry operations were threatening the quality of the drinking water.
Bob Baxter is general manager for River Valley Developments, the Carson Reid Holdings Ltd. company that owns the property and currently leases it out to a quarry operator.
“Initially it’s a water solution and we’re cooperating with the CIty of Guelph to help satisfy their water quality and water quantity challenges,” said Baxtter.
The property has been owned by River Valley Developments since 2004.
Current quarry operations use 11 million litres of water a day, most of which is groundwater used for quarry operations then released into the Speed River.
“Initially we had intentions to quarry it out. As a quarry operator it’s a viable business,” Baxter said, adding that there remains a possible 15 to 30 years of quarry use possible at the Dolime Quarry.
Baxter said it’s premature what it would cost to remediate the property to development levels.
That cost, he said, would be absorbed by the property owner.
Baxter noted that a large portion of the 230-acre property cannot be developed.
“An enormous part of that will be the pond and there’s lots of green space along the river and is just not usable for neighbourhood use. It’s more green space related.”
Chris White, Mayor of Guelph-Eramosa Township, said the proposal is a “win-win” for his municipality.
White said Guelph-Eramosa would be looking to be compensated financially for the early shutdown of the gravel pit, but the end result would be increased water protection and the development of a piece of land that makes more sense to be part of Guelph anyway.
“We don’t have the means to provide the water, sewers and other infrastructure to develop this land,” White said. “If it was ours we’d eventually end up with a big hole.”
Guthrie said the announcement was an important one for all involved and complimented the property owner for being willing to get it done.
“How many times have we heard, anywhere, that there’s a quarry that’s willing to be shut down early?” Guthrie said.
More information, and the opportunity to provide input into the public engagement, can be done through the city’s website at www.guelph.ca.
