Scrap metal business to replace salvage yard building
Improved conditions expected for workers at Nurse Scrap Metal
An application by an Erskine Avenue salvage yard to build a new building to replace another was approved by the city’s committee of adjustment Tuesday and will enter the site plan approval process if no appeals are lodged in the next 20 days.
The 560-square-metre, metalclad building at Nurse Scrap Metal would replace a shorter structure with a slightly larger footprint; the new build would be two storeys to accommodate heavy equipment and machinery that cannot be used indoors now.
A new structure would allow the business to move several activities completed outside indoors, improving conditions for employees, city infrastructure and planning services assistant planner Christie Gilbertson wrote in a report table by the committee.
For example, the new building would include an area for car processing – an industry term for removing tires, fluids and batteries – although the process of crushing vehicles would continue outside, she explained.
It would also include office space, a customer reception area, storage, materials processing and maintenance areas and be located closer to weigh scales on the site closer to Erskine Avenue to improve flow, Gilbertson wrote.
The conditional approval is subject to conditions imposed by staff to address issues related to mud and dust, fencing and sound, to help the 64-year-old business better fit into the surrounding neighbourhood.
Staff are proposing surface treatments with crushed and rolled recycled asphalt in all vehicle movement and parking areas and improving fencing with more visually appealing and soundproofing materials.
“This is an opportunity for the city to bring in some of our asks,” Gilbertson said, pointing out it is the city’s role to balance everyone’s interests in such a situation.
City engineering staff have indicated the site plan approval process will also address lot grading, draining, servicing and stormwater management, she wrote.
The conditions also include a stipulation that the old building must be demolished within 30
days of completion of the new building.
Area citizens have long voiced concerns about the property and several were on hand for the meeting of the five-member, apolitical committee.
There will be further public consultation as the application moves forward, Gilbertson stressed.
It comes with the business is in the process of being taken over by a larger salvage company that has already been operating the property for several years.
The new owners aim to invest in the property to bring it into compliance with various environmental and employment safety standards and to “generally improve the overall operation,” Gilbertson wrote in her report.
Notices will now be sent out to all parties who requested them advising of the 20-day appeal period – should an appeal, or appeals, be lodged, they would be addressed through the local planning appeal tribunal, Gilbertson said.
If there are none, the applicant can then begin discussions with staff about the site plan approval process, which could take a year or more, she said.