FIRST DAY OF THE HUNDER PIT O.M.B. HEARING

I believe 25 days were set aside for this hearing. Therefore logic says I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions after only one day. The hearing ran yesterday from 11 am to 12:40 pm. and then from 2 pm. till 4 pm.. There was mostly procedural and administrative stuff combined with one whole witness namely Mr. Cisco (planner) on behalf of the Hunder Pit. My impression is that things look bad for the CWRA (Conestoga Winterbourne Residents Association). The lawyer for Woolwich Township, Ms. Costello, appears sharp and intelligent. She made it clear to the OMB Chair, Susan Schiller, that the Township were opposed to the pit and only if the Board decided it could go ahead would the Township then be pushing for a number of conditions to mitigate negative effects on residents. I was not impressed with the O.M.B. Chair. She seems to be enjoying herself and her humour a little too much. One could almost say she was grandstanding. Now keep in mind this criticism is based on one day only. If the lawyer for the CWRA hasn't already told his clients to show up at the hearings, he should. This Board currently is politically vulnerable. There are attempts being made provincially to reform the Board allegedly. This Board has a history of siding with developers and most especially with aggregate companies. I think it would be very beneficial to the Chair if she were to see the faces of the people who will be negatively affected by locating this pit on it's proposed site.

There is to be a site visit this morning restricted to lawyers and planners only. The hearing will then resume this afternoon at 2 pm.. The Region of Waterloo have been excused from the hearing but have not withdrawn as a party. They have signed a Minutes of Settlement with Hunder on their outstanding issues including hydrogeology etc.. Woolwich Township have also signed a Minutes of Settlement but in regards to vertical zoning only. The issue of municipalities attempting to enforce the depth of extraction has been and continues to be problematic with a concurrent O.M.B. hearing going on in K-W involving the Region and the Ministry of Natural Resources plus the Ontario Sand & Gravel Association.

The Township to their credit have insisted on many peer reviews of the reports produced by Hunder's various experts. There have also been 286 letters of objection coming from 86 different households in the neighbourhood. The community are very strongly in opposition to the location of this proposed pit. Mr. Cisco gave a glowing interpretation of "progressive" rehabilitation of the pit to the assembled folks. It brought a tear to my eye and I only wish I could get a gravel pit to locate next to me so that I could enjoy this wonderful natural restoration.....not!