General News

Mono council agrees in principle to Violet Hill aggregate operation

October 2, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INTIATIVE REPORTER

Mono council has kind of given the nod of approval to Greenwood Aggregates Ltd. to start a gravel pit on their property in the Violet Hill area.

The property is comprised of Lots 30-32 on Concession 4 EHS (east of Hurontario Street) and covers about 149 hectares. The company expects to haul as much as 1-million tonnes each year over about 30 years.

Council did not assess this land use to be in the best interest of the municipality and opposed the application. The proposal went to the Ontario Land Tribunal in 2021. The OLT ordered the town in October 2021 to amend Zoning Bylaw 78-1 and its Official Plan for the allowance of the Violet Hill Gravel Pit.

The OLT further ordered the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to issue the extraction license subject to conditions.

The company reached out to the town in late 2024 and early 2025 to discuss reopening the idea of a realigned Fourth Line EHS. The realignment could bring future discussions about right of way realignment and the potential for land to come into the ownership of the municipality.

Council considered the requirements of truck access to the property by way of Highway 89. The entrance is located about 480 metres south of the Highway 89-Third Line EHS intersection along Third Line. Truck traffic would be directed to Third Line and Highway 89 at Violet Hill.

Mike Dunmore, the town’s CAO, said that council, subject to design, agrees with the realignment with Fourth Line. He said council would like to revisit the site drawings in the proposal.

“I feel it’s straightforward enough for us to have a fulsome conversation with the (Ministry of Transportation) and that’s the intent here,” Dunmore said. “Have some discussion and get some feet on the ground to get some drawings.”

The town and the company will review those drawings.

“I think that it is, ultimately, up to us to be on board,” Councillor Melinda Davie said. “This is in an effort to really get all the information for us and protect Mono.”

What happens to Highway 89, a provincial thoroughfare, is out of Mono’s control.

Mono council’s agreement in principle for the project is to ensure a conversation between the municipality and Greenwood happens before the MTO can shut the town down, before both parties get to the table.

Readers Comments (0)