Columbia Valley Pioneer Staff
Invermere council continues to review a local company’s application to expand its business in the industrial park amidst environmental and flood plain concerns.
On July 11, Committee of the Whole discussed a briefing from Director of Development Services Rory Hromadnik regarding a Gulo Holdings (Dusk Construction) application for a Crown land tenure licence of occupation for a 3.5-hectare expansion at 1341 Industrial Road #3.
In a letter to council, Dusk Building Systems general manager Sheldon Mose indicated the company wants to lease additional land adjacent to its existing holdings to expand its wood manufacturing operations. Dusk is in the process of building a new facility at 1351 Industrial Road #3 where it will merge a wall panel and truss manufacturing operation into one facility to increase efficiency and tighten up quality control.
Mose said the company is starting to enter into some new wood floor true manufacturing markets, and a larger office area will allow it to hire more designers and support staff, leading to higher sales volumes. He indicated the proposed lease property would provide adequate yard storage space for inventory and a staging area for products before shipping.
Mose pointed out that traffic volumes would basically remain the same, and that activity will not change from current operations, therefore, no further emissions will be created. In addition, there will be no drainage issues, he said. He also noted there are no nearby lakes or streams that will be impacted by the operation, and no known endangered species in the area.
Mose did outline a plan to obtain a licence to cut and remove some trees (spruce, cottonwood) and grub the lot.
In his March report, Hromadnik recommended that council not support the proposal for the following reasons: environmental impact on bird and wildlife habitat, wetland and tree ecosystem, potential impact to the flood plan as a result of removing the forested area, jeopardizes any future expansion options, and does not address dike protection.
Even if the habitat and flood-related issues are addressed, the “outdoor materials storage proposal falls short of the highest and best future value of the land,” Hromadnik said in his report.
When asked about the situation, Invermere Mayor Al Miller said staff are engaging with the province to discuss next steps.
