Bradford council stopped a planned cemetery plan dead in its tracks after residents claimed traffic, environmental impacts and water contamination would be too hard to swallow.
More than 50 residents attended a public meeting to oppose Vincenzo Gagliardi’s proposal to convert his property at 3369 Line 13 into a cemetery, during a council meeting Oct. 17.
Mana Masoudi, senior planner, explained the reason for the public meeting and outlined the plan to transform 36.42 hectares of farmland into a multi-denominational cemetery including 9,000 burial plots and two four-storey mausoleums.
While staff were prepared to issue site plan approval, the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 still required council to determine if the proposal was in the public’s interest.
Of those in attendance, nine residents came up to share their concerns with council including Gail Hazlett, who lives nearby on Line 12, as do her parents, leading her to have concerns over impacts on traffic, air quality and ground water.
Hazlett said streams and rivers that run along the property in question lead to her and her parents’ properties, and as her parents are in the process of digging a new well, the possibility of contamination is “very concerning.”
“My kids drink the water, my neighbours drink the water, everyone drinks the water,” she said, adding that and other concerns mean “it’s a recipe for disaster if you ask me.”
Jackie Edwards lives to the north of the proposal and worries that not enough is being done to prevent construction and operation of the site from impacting those residing nearby.
Edwards wants to see servicing and mitigation plans expanded to consider gas emissions, water use and septic provisions, and worries about “bio waste” from the site contaminating water sources.
“A mitigation plan is preventative and not reactive and should require that all reasonable mitigation be implemented to prevent any environmental spills from occurring,” she said.
Karyl Alfred felt there should be a distinction between a common cemetery and one with two four-storey mausoleums, which she compared to “a massive commercial project,” and worried about the potential for funerals attracting hundreds of vehicles and negatively impacting nearby residents.
“We all purchased a rural property for the purpose of a quiet life. This would make our lives miserable,” she said, adding that if the project were to move forward, she would want to see limitations on when and how much activity can take place on the site.
Marlon Alfred felt residents should have been given notice of the project sooner and that the reports had too many caveats about what could happen, and not enough assurances for residents.
Giovanni Calabro introduced himself as a professional road builder and paver who thinks the road would need significant improvements to handle traffic from construction.
“I can guarantee you that road will not support heavy trucks going in and out,” he said. “Thirteenth Line, you say your prayer in the winter when you drive on that street. All that traffic is going to be hell."
Lanny Dennis, of Lanny Dennis Planning, represented the property owner. He explained the cemetery wouldn’t be built out all at once, but expanded over decades and kept to the areas that have already been disturbed for farming.
The proponent confirmed all existing wetlands, watercourses and woodlands on the property would be preserved. Most nearby nearby wells are 40 to 100 metres deep, the proponent says, and should be protected by a layer of soil that prevents leachate contamination. Ground water should run off the site away from houses, too.
These comments drew criticism from the crowd.
Joe Voisin, a civil engineer, explained the sewage system for the site should have no impact on nearby residents and that the fire system would use dry hydrants with precast tanks, so it would have no impact on the aquifer.
Town staff had requested a 30-year monitoring program and the proponent had agreed, Dennis said.
On traffic, Michael Cullip of Tatham Engineering said, “this is not going to cause gridlock or chaos."
But councillors ultimately remained skeptical.
Ward 6 Coun. Nickolas Harper asked the consultants how the cemetery would be in the public interest.
In response, Dennis stressed the importance of adding more burial space in Bradford, especially due to population growth, an aging population and limited existing spaces.
With reports containing qualifiers such as suspect, expected, should and could, Harper wanted to know how consultants could be sure water quality wouldn’t be affected.
Ward 2 Coun. Jonathan Scott asked who would be responsible for operating the site and adhering to long-term agreements, and upon hearing that there is currently no proposed operator, became frustrated.
“Nothing you presented tonight inspired any confidence,” he said.
As the vice-chair of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, Scott was unconvinced of the appropriateness of the site, as it sits over a “highly-vulnerable aquifer.”
While deputy mayor Raj Sandhu estimated that there are only a little more than 6,000 burial spaces left in Bradford, he agreed with Scott.
“That doesn’t fly with me; they have lots of homework to do,” he said.
Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano said that, while the site wasn’t proposed for agricultural land and council is “growth oriented,” the proposal wasn’t the right type of growth for the town.
Mayor James Leduc agreed the presentation failed to properly address all of the concerns, but said the proponent should be given more time to revisit those concerns and return to council with an updated presentation.
Ward 5 Coun. Peter Ferragine, in whose ward the cemetery was proposed, said his eyes were opened by the concerns of residents and the responses from consultants.
“You see it in the room. Is this in the public’s interest? Absolutely not,” he said.
During a recorded vote requested by Giordano, all councillors voted to defeat the proposal except for the mayor, and the decision was met by cheering and applause from residents.
To view the meeting in its entirety, visit the town’s YouTube page.
