A new gravel pit is planned along Lubitz Road in Laurentian Valley. The property at 207 Lubitz Road is owned by R.G.T. Clouthier Construction Ltd. The Township has been advised that the province is in a position to move forward to issue the license for the gravel pit.
A public meeting was held Tuesday night (January 18th, 2022), with concerns raised by two homeowners who live on Lubitz Road. The two local residents who spoke were worried about increased traffic, vehicle noise and safety. Other concerns included decreased property value, dissatisfaction with the whole public consultation process and impacts to quality of life for those living in the area.
A major concern from residents surrounded the fact that R.G.T. Clouthier Construction has another pit right next to the new pit on Lubitz Road, with access to Doran Road. Residents wanted to see access to the new gravel pit from Doran Road instead of Lubitz Road, but the only legal right of way to access the property is from Lubitz Road. According to township staff, the adjacent pit has a separate license and agreements with landowners to access Doran Road. The newly proposed pit would need new agreements to access Doran Road. R.G.T. Clouthier have indicated that should they be successful in securing right-of-ways for access to Doran Road, that route would then become the primary access to the new gravel pit.
Once the gravel pit is operational, there are royalty fees required to be provided to the Township to offset some of the cost of impacts on municipal infrastructure. It’s expected the gravel pit would see 25 trucks per week, or less than one vehicle per hour. During peak operations up to 20 trucks could be seen in a day with between four to eight passenger vehicles for staff.
To address safety concerns, council has agreed to reduce the speed limit on Lubitz Road from Henan Road to Doran Road from 80 kilometres per hour to 60 kilometres per hour. A section of the roadway will also be dropped down to 50 kilometers an hour.
Council has agreed to remove the holding symbol on the lands to allow the process to move forward.