The town's plan to move the waste transfer site to the north end of the town yard has angered residents of the Westwood Court Mobile Home Park, a neighbourhood that provides affordable housing for about 250 citizens.
Last April town council approved a five-point plan from administration to relocate the current 6.5-acre waste transfer site from the southwest corner of town to a new two-acre site near the intersection of 57 Avenue and 37 Street. Council's approval paved the way for the town to set aside $282,000 in the 2015 budget for the relocation and construction of the new facility.
However, residents at the proposed location, led by Donald Petersen, secretary of the mobile home park, are crying foul, noting the new waste transfer site would only be a “quarter of a city block” from their neighbourhood.
“The new location would absolutely impinge on the backyards of a number of residents and would substantially interfere with the quiet enjoyment of all of the residents of the park,” said Petersen in a letter that was put before council at its regular meeting on June 9.
Petersen's letter to the town was accepted and tabled by council as information.
Craig Teal, director of planning and operational services, said the town is taking the neighbourhood concerns seriously.
“When we start doing more of our detailed work we are certainly going to take all of their concerns into consideration and mitigate as much as we possibly can,” said Teal. “It is important to remember that we keep calling it a waste transfer station and we envision the garbage compactor and the way it functions now. The intent is to change its function before it makes its transfer, so certain activities are not moving over to that site.”
Petersen stated in his letter there has always been a concern at the park with its zoning evolution from light industrial to heavier industrial, along with the use of adjacent lands by the town for its public works yards. He added there is already a decline in the quality of life for park residents.
He also questioned the proposed operations at the future site, including the creation of an area to pile brush, which will then be mulched by a contractor and then shipped to a composting facility.
“One can only imagine the noise associated with this mulching activity which will surely only add to the cacophony of garbage trucks coming and going, polluting the air and banging bins,” said Petersen in his letter. “In this context it was almost laughable to hear that the town was working towards a more environmentally-friendly system in handling the municipality's garbage.”
Petersen's letter also questioned why a second proposed new waste transfer site, west of the sewage lagoon along 61st Avenue, was rejected on the grounds it was too secluded and would attract illegal dumping.
“The corollary to such a position must be that council chose to set up a garbage dump in our residents' backyard so that our residents could, in effect, police and dissuade the potential illegal dumping, at the same time as they were trying to enjoy their morning coffee or have their evening BBQ meal,” said Petersen.
However, Teal told council in his report that its approval last April to relocate the facility does not mean there will be immediate changes at the site. He said more detailed work is required, which includes formal budget approval and the creation of a visual screen along the north side of the facility.
“This may alleviate some of the concerns related to sightlines and views expressed in the letter,” said Teal, adding noise issues will be managed through hours of operation and scheduling of activities. He added town staff who regularly pass the area will monitor the future site and that there could be “possible” installation of security cameras.
Teal said administration will be coming back to council in 2015 with a full report that will include a detailed design of the new waste transfer site and will include proposals that will address the issues raised in Petersen's letter.
