The regional district made the right decision by sending a zoning amendment application to a public hearing on May 26.
If it doesn’t disturb the neighbours or harm the environment, why not formalize the Griffiths’ auto recycling operation on Sawmill Road?
From what we’ve heard, Darcy Griffith has been doing a good job salvaging automobiles and recycling them. The fact is it’s a needed service and provides local employment.
For too long this business has operated as a non-conforming entity under the current zoning and has relied on a temporary use permit to continue. So it’s time to formalize this operation as a legally conforming enterprise that protects the environment from oil-leaking junkers and other derelict vehicles.
Auto recycling keeps tons of scrap metal out of the landfill and countless litres of toxic fluids from entering the ground and our water.
Without these salvage operations, we would see far more environmental disasters than we see today.
Recycling steel prevents the need to manufacture new steel. This reduces the need to refine iron ore, which in turn reduces the use of energy. Remember, coal-burning plants and refineries are large contributors of greenhouse gases, so recycling cars makes a lot of sense.
If every North American recycled one vehicle in their lifetime, imagine the amount of greenhouse gases that would be prevented from escaping into the atmosphere.
Some auto salvage yards can be very intrusive in the community, but we haven’t heard any complaints about the Sawmill Road operation.
We just need to be careful that any zoning amendment being considered doesn’t haunt us in the future.
The area in question is surrounded by residential and agricultural influences, and we wouldn’t want a heavier industrial use moving in to upset this balance.
Lyonel Doherty, Editor
