Some Lethbridge County residents are breathing a bit easier this week, after a local construction company withdrew its application to rezone a parcel of land just west of Coalhurst.
Tollestrop Construction has been taking gravel out of the area for years and had plans to expand to a Class 1 Gravel Pit, or an asphalt plant.
After a public hearing earlier in the month, the company is now set to officially withdraw its application at Thursday’s council meeting. It’s the result residents were hoping for.
“This is their livelihood and this is an opportunity for Tollestrop to expand their business and Lethbridge is growing and the need for pavement and gravel is growing,” said Deanna Storfie, a Lethbridge County resident. “We just want to tell them we thank them for hearing our concerns.”
Many had concerns over the proposal to rezone the land from rural agriculture to rural industrial.
“Currently there isn’t a heavy industrial site within the county and to choose a location in an environmentally sensitive area such as a river bottom, is my main concern,” said Dan Chapman, a Lethbridge County resident. “Following an asphalt plant, the life of that, what industries are able to be rezoned and move into the area as well.”
Chapman also said he had concerns regarding air quality, noise and the effect of such a decision on property values.
“They clearly expressed their feelings and certainly Tollestrop heard what they had to say,” Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey said.
The company isn’t saying the project won’t happen.
In a statement provided to Global News company officials said in part: “Tollestrup Construction Inc. has announced today that they have withdrawn their application of re-zoning for their Levrick Pit location in the County of Lethbridge, in order to provide better information to the community by communicating the benefits and safety of the proposed addition to our ongoing operation.”
“We have always been a community oriented company, we’re taking a step back and slowing things down so that we can meet without neighbours and answer any questions and concerns they have and to make sure that they understand that their fears are not warranted,” Controller Mitch Arsenault said. “We have been in business in Southern Alberta for almost 80 years and we hope to be for 80 more years to come.”
Storfie hopes the company reconsiders the plan altogether.
“It’s a beautiful valley for all of us,” Storfie said. “But it’s not just about our view, it’s about the uniqueness of the valley.”