106th Year - Week 17
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
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GOLFERS TEE OFF Local golfers are hitting the links.
SPORTS/A11
INNOVATIVE AND ACCESSIBLE Contemporary dance group Out Innerspace performs Vessel at the Della Herman Theatre Saturday night, presented by the Bulkley Valley Concert Association. Out Innerspace is a Vancouver-based troupe. For more, see A23.
CANDIDATE BIOS The four confirmed candidates for Stikine introduce themselves.
COMMUNITY/A17
Ryan Jensen photo
SMXA track gets temporary reprieve By Ryan Jensen
Smithers/Interior News
SKI BUM Chiaki Nakamura lives to ski.
OUR TOWN/A19
INSIDE LETTERS SPORTS COMMUNITY OUR TOWN THREE RIVERS CLASSIFIEDS
A7 A11 A17 A19 C1 C5
The Smithers Motocross Association received a new, temporary, lease on life for their Donaldson Rd. track. At the Regional District of BulkleyNechako board meeting last Thursday, the SMXA was granted a five-month Temporary Use Permit to legalize the operation of their track for the 2013 season. The future of the SMXA track has been up in the air since last year, when RDBN residents brought forward complaints about excessive noise generated by the track. Further investigation
revealed there were a number of issues with the track that needed to be remedied. Many of these issues centred around the fact the track was built on a landfill that was closed by the RDBN in 2000. Because the track was built on a closed landfill, questions were raised about the track impacting the integrity of the landfill cap, the potential of contamination of other parts of the property and the health risks associated with the collection of landfill gases on the property. “There are a number of significant reasons why a motocross track may not be a suitable long-term use for the subject property and
there are a number of significant issues that must be evaluated and resolved by the property owner, the Ministry of Environment and the Agricultural Land Commission before the suitability of the proposed use can be determined,” Jason Llewellyn, director of planning, noted in a report previously prepared for the RDBN board. “It is also possible the existence of the motocross track on top of the landfill may be impacting the integrity of the landfill cap and creating health risks.” The intention now, Stoney Stoltenberg RDBN Director Electoral Area A said, is to have the organization
Friday Only! see page A-28
work with the RDBN to find a new location for the track so they can find a permanent home. “Everybody on the board is supportive of the SMXA but there are lots of liabilities as far as old landfills go,” Stoltenberg said. “We’re not trying to squash motocross. “We’re trying to make this work as best we can but because of the location of it, the chance of spreading pollution outside of that zone is too great. “We don’t want to take that chance.” Ray Chipenuik, who heads a group called the BV Countryside Alliance, which is in opposition to the motocross track because they say
the noise negatively affects their enjoyment of country living, said granting the permit seems to be in contravention to the Smithers Telkwa Rural Official Community Plan. The OCP allows for the a Temporary Use Permit to be granted only when the environment would not be negatively affected and the use will not have adverse affects on neighbouring land uses and property owners, among other conditions. “The regional district’s own documents dwell on the environmental problems of the site and neighbouring property owners have
been complaining strenuously about the illegal motocross activity on the site for two years,” Chipeniuk said. “Needless to say, operation of the SMXA track has overwhelming environmental implications and imposes a real hardship on local residents. “So it is hard to understand why the regional board would even entertain this TUP process.” Stoltenberg said he doesn’t believe the the landfill cap will be affected by the the short racing season. “Part of the assumption is that one more summer there isn’t going to have a negative impact,” he said.
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