Chris Cathers says a gravel pit mine along Nanaimo River Rd. would seriously harm the community which has built up in the area.

By Spencer Sterritt

gravel grouse

South RDN community rallies against proposed gravel pit mine

Aug 6, 2019 | 9:38 AM

NANAIMO — A proposed gravel pit mine on Nanaimo River Rd. is digging up resentment against the Regional District of Nanaimo.

A petition with several hundred signatures accuses the RDN of not properly handling how the area along the Nanaimo River expands and becomes more residential.

Petition creator Chris Cathers told NanaimoNewsNOW a proposed gravel pit mine shouldn’t be allowed in the increasingly popular area.

“The RDN needs to be held accountable,” he said. “They can’t let residential communities develop and then sit back idly while big large companies come in and build industrial gravel pits in a residential community.”

The lot of 1975 Nanaimo River Rd. was most recently zoned for resource management in 2000.

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Cathers said the proposed pit goes against the goals of the official community plan for the area, which includes protecting rural integrity and the natural environment.

Beyond the noise of a gravel pit and its location beside a river, Cathers said he’s most concerned about the increase in traffic to the unmaintained Nanaimo River Rd.

He estimated up to 200 trucks per day could go through the community if the development is approved.

“There’s no sidewalks, there’s no pedestrian-friendly area for people to walk. A number of times I’ve seen logging trucks nearly clip people going down to the river.”

Cathers said he and others intend to go before RDN leadership in the fall.

RDN staff said they have no regulatory authority over any mining operations in the area or the authority to make improvements to the road if the gravel pit mine is created.

A statement about current progress on the development wasn’t received from the Ministry of Energy and Mines by deadline.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit