Fast-tracked fertilizer expansion given final consideration

An application from Valley Fertilizers and Scotian Gold to expand a fertilizer production facility in Coldbrook has been dealt with sooner than first expected.

Kings County council held a public hearing on the development agreement on Jan. 15 and then went into a special meeting, where it voted in favour of second and final consideration.

Although council had voted in December to accelerate the timeline for the application, a staff report indicated the special meeting date for second and final consideration would be Jan. 20.

The proposal is to construct a new storage building to hold fertilizer after it’s been bagged for retail sale. Since the application involves expanding what is considered a non-conforming land use in a well field protection zone, the expansion must be handled through a development agreement with the municipality.

Deputy warden Brian Hirtle, chairman of the planning advisory committee, said in December that there was a request from the company’s management to move the application along as quickly as possible. They would like to have the storage facility built in time for the upcoming fertilizer season.

The subject site is made up of two lots, about 4.6 acres in total. The west lot contains the existing fertilizer production building while the east lot is currently used for outdoor storage. Valley Fertilizers Limited wants to build a 65-foot-by-100-foot storage building.