Thanks to the town hall meeting in Hope Feb. 21, the District of Hope council is drafting up a second letter to send to the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals about the proposed gravel pit expansion.
Council unanimously agreed to have a letter drawn up, and sent for the March 3 deadline, during the council meeting on Monday (Feb. 24). Mayor and council discussed the letter after amending the agenda to allow local Arlene Webster speak about the Hope Ready Mix Ltd.'s proposal to increase their mining, quarry, and gravel extraction operation to 50 hectares.
In her presentation to council, Webster reiterated concerns made during the town hall meeting and expressed how council needed to be more proactive in representing the community on this matter. Webster also expressed her concerns about Jake Klaassen, the owner of Hope Ready Mix, buying up property on Othello Road in anticipation of the permit being approved.
Council agreed that residents, during the meeting, made good points regarding the expansion, some they may not have even considered, and that the province needs to be held accountable when it comes to the process of submitting an application, and what steps are needed for it to be approved.
"I think it (the town hall meeting) put us in our place too," said Coun. Dusty Smith. "Another thing I'd like to see us, as council, do along the road is to look into the UBCM convention. We got put into a situation where, the province gives the permit out. And the district of Hope sent a letter off but then we just kind of had to wait and see what the process is on it. But I think that put us in an awkward position here.
"So, I'd like to see if we can get some communication, during UBCM, that the province has to come to us. I know that won't happen overnight by any means. But they have to come to us, when its within our district boundaries, for the mining permits. And give communities opportunities to say yes or no on it. I know some of them are grandfathered like this pit. But this expansion, the public has told us they don't want it."
During the meeting, Coun. Scott Medlock, who suggested sending a second letter, said that the district should focus on the application process. In particular, Medlock said he doesn't think its fair for the province to give a permit for a mining operation or expansion on a property "that is currently not zoned correctly, without it going through a public process or a hearing."
John Fortoloczky, the chief administrative officer for the district, clarified that the district were not informed, by the province, about the expansion proposal despite the application being put in a year before. Instead, district staff and council found out about the proposal in December 2024, after the sign was put up by Hope Ready Mix on their property on Kettle Valley Road.
Residents had a month from Dec. 30, 2024 to write in to submit in their comments, thoughts, concerns, and questions to both Hope Ready Mix, and the ministry, about their application. No public hearings were held during this time period regarding the matter.
On Feb. 21, more than 300 people were in attendance to voice their concerns about the expansion. Heated exchanges took place during the meeting, which was organized and moderated by Fraser-Nicola MLA Tony Luck, as residents shared their thoughts and asked questions of Klaassen.
According to Klaassen, the permit application was submitted in order to meet the increasing demands of Hope and the surrounding area. Part of mining requirements, Klaassen said, is updating mining plans every five years in order to bring mining operations to industry standards. The last update was done between 2018 to 2019, when Klaassen bought the pit.
"This resource (sand and gravel) is used in Hope, around Hope, and for Hope and its infrastructure," Klaassen said. " I think there's an idea that all this material comes out of here and is going to head off to Vancouver or outside the surrounding area. And a majority of the resource is for the residents of Hope and all their infrastructure support in the surrounding areas.
"We're a family run business. And we respect community and industry. (We believe they can) work together, and we can demonstrate that or continue to demonstrate that."
Klaassen is both the general manager and construction manager of Jakes Construction. According to its website, the company provides "comprehensive civil construction solutions for projects of all sizes in any environment." This includes "road paving, constructing an overpass, installing new sewage pipes, or clearing a large plot of land."
Hope Mayor Victor Smith, Electoral B Director Peter Adamo, and Derek Holmes, from Holmes Mining Consultant, were also present during the meeting. Holmes did the consultation for Klassen and wrote up most of the proposal, and documentation for the application, to be submitted to the ministry.
Despite being invited and having the final approval on the application, no representatives from the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals were present during the meeting.
"Ministry staff were not notified with enough time to send a representative. However, the ministry appreciates public participation and looks forward to reviewing all comments," said the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals in a email to The Standard. "We understand that some residents in the region have concerns about the proposed Hope Cemetery Pit expansion. @hile the official 30-day public comment period has expired, we are still accepting comments for consideration.
"Further information is posted on the ministry’s Regional Mines Public Engagement Portal. All feedback received will be reviewed and considered by the permitting team as part of the adjudication process."
The majority of speakers spoke against the proposal and mining operation. Some wanted the mining operation but asked that Hope Ready Mix trucks use a different road to transport loads. Others were completely against the mining operation entirely and wanted it gone from Hope.
Some residents said that approving the proposal went against the Hope community plan to focus on an economy made through tourism and environmental stewardship. Some spoke about road safety concerns, while others are worried about further damage to roads that were not built to support heavy duty trucks and machinery.
Other concerns raised include increased noise, dust, and water pollution in the area, along with environmental concerns (caused by the blasting and mining) and lowered property values. They also asked why other gravel pits in Hope, that were of less concern to residents, weren't being utilized more instead.
With regards to tourism, residents also brought up how having the trucks use Othello Road might cause issues for visitors wishing to spend time in the Othello Tunnels.
Klaassen said that the new route was chosen to reduce their traffic on Kawkawa Lake Road and enhance the "pedestrian friendly atmosphere" of the town. It is anticipated that this new route will be completed in less than 24 months.
Some residents also expressed that they've had little to no communication with Klassen when trying to bring up issues with the trucks and his mining operation. Klassen disagreed with one of the residents on this and said he did try to reach out to her.
Though there were people in favour of the application present during the meeting, only person spoke in favour of the proposal, saying the expansion would lead to more jobs and a stronger economy for Hope. This individual also said that they did not think a economy built on tourism would be feasible for Hope.
While not officially present during the town hall meeting, Yale First Nation (YFN) wrote a letter stating their support of the residents against the expansion. In the letter YFN Chief Troy Peters, speaking on behalf of the YFN community, offered an alternative solution to the proposal.
"We at Yale First Nation have partnered with Vine Maple Sand & Gravel (VM) for the development of a new sand and gravel pit on Yale First Nation’s historic lands in Yale," Peters said. "The location is approximately 10 kilometres from downtown Hope. Sufficiently distant to address most, if not all, of the concerns raised in the townhall meeting. And yet close enough to allow for the prompt and economic delivery of aggregates for Hope’s expanding industries.
"Vine Maple has the legal and environmental expertise to address the concerns raised on Feb. 21 and has already received letters of support from the majority of Yale residents proximal to our site."
At the end of the letter, Peters said that residents can send their letters to YFN and it will be included in their submission to the ministry; the deadline for First Nation’s input and comment to ministry, on the expansion application, is open until March 3.
The full letter can be read in full on page A7 in the Feb. 28 edition of The Standard.
The meeting was held thanks to efforts by Karina Thomas, a resident of Othello Road. Thomas reached out to Luck after becoming concerned that the new plan would divert truck traffic from Kettle Valley Road to run through town.
This new traffic plan, according to Thomas, would affect about eight of the residents living there and see the trucks driving further along Kawkawa Lake Road, going past the park and lakeside residents. That could move the existing problem "from Kettle Valley Road to Othello Road and further exacerbate the issue as the trucks would now drive the entire length of Kawkawa Lake Road," she told The Standard previously.
According to Thomas, residents still have until March 3 to email or mail their comments, concerns, and questions to the Ministry of Mines.
A petition, Stop the Hope Cemetery Pit Expansion, was also posted online Feb. 2.
At the time of press, the petition had 836 signatures. They were hoping for 700. During the meeting, Klaassen addressed the petition and said the creators needed to verify the information presented in it. He declined to comment when asked by residents to clarify which information in the petition was false.
The petition can still be signed by searching for “Stop the Hope Cemetery Pit Expansion” on openPetition.org.
Are you a Hope local with thoughts on this? Email a letter to the editor to kemone.moodley@hopestandard.com.
