The owner of waterfront land on the Upper Harbour is suing the City of Victoria to overturn its approval allowing for a silo of about 30 metres tall on the neighbouring Trio Ready-Mix site.
Pt. Ellice Properties Ltd. of Victoria is asking the B.C. Supreme Court to set aside council’s Dec. 10 decision in favour of a development permit and variance for the silo.
The company is asking the court to determine under the Local Government Act that the Trio site is not zoned for industrial uses.
No hearing date has been set.
On Thursday, the City of Victoria said in a statement: “We are confident in our position that council’s decision was reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances. The matter is currently before the courts and we look forward to the hearing to have the matter resolved.”
Pt. Ellice filed the suit in January.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray allowed Trio to be added to the case as a respondent, similar to the City of Victoria, because of its stake in the outcome.
The case revolves around a planned silo on the Trio site where a state-of-the-art cement plant was installed in 2018.
Trio is currently trucking in large amounts of aggregate (gravel) to serve the plant. It plans to build the silo so it can instead use a barge to deliver the aggregate, thus replacing 2,500 truckloads per year, Trio said in a court document.
The land used by Trio is owned by Ralmax Properties Ltd. That company and Trio are part of the Ralmax Group of Companies, which owns other businesses around the harbour, including Point Hope Maritime and United Engineering.
Trio and Ralmax have spent more than $1 million on engineering for site preparation and construction, the Trio document said.
Pt. Ellice and Trio lands abut, with Trio to the east, running roughly north-south close to the end of Turner Street.
In its petition to the court, Pt. Ellice said the city did not address the impact of the silo on its property.
It said the silo variance approved was for a 31.83-metre structure, but project drawings show it closer to 34 metres tall.
The silo would be built immediately next to Pt. Ellice’s property with a zero setback from the property line.
Pt. Ellice said it was not sufficiently informed of the plans. It said that its lawyer received five minutes only to present its perspective at the virtual council meeting.
Lawyer John Alexander, representing Pt. Ellice, said Thursday the case will address the question of the decision process during the time of COVID.
Trio said that during the silo’s design stage, management and engineers determined that a shorter and wider silo could not be feasibly constructed on the site because it would not leave enough land for roads, the concrete plant, and the equipment to operate.
The silo could not be set back from the property line for the same reasons, Trio said.
Trio said it confirmed with the city, by reviewing zoning rules and getting municipal feedback, that a setback was not required.
Pt. Ellice was consulted, Trio said.
