A plastics recycling business has been given more time to remove buildings and machinery placed on a Lacombe County industrial lot without approval.
SLC Canada for Waste Processing Inc. got into hot water with the county after it emerged that it had begun developing its site in the Aspelund Industrial Park, west of Blackfalds, without necessary approvals.
The company was told to remove a mobile home by Sept. 14. But the home stayed, and then later a shop and office were added to the site, prompting the county’s stop order.
A bid to have the order overturned went to the subdivision and development appeal board last week. That bid was unsuccessful but SLC Canada was given until the beginning of February to remove the buildings and some machinery on the site.
Meanwhile, the company has a second appeal in the works. This was launched after the county’s municipal planning commission rejected the recycling company’s application to set up a plant because a structure already in place didn’t meet county standards.
Instead of a building with solid walls, a tarp-covered structure was erected on the industrial site.
County planner and development officer Anita O’Driscoll said building standards are high in the industrial park and all must follow the rules.
“We’ve got businesses in there that have spent millions and millions of dollars on their buildings and their landscaping. It’s unfair to apply one set of regulations to one person and another set to another.”
Other businesses complained to the county about the recycling company’s structures.
The second appeal will be heard on Dec. 18.
To give SLC an opportunity to meet county development rules, a six-month waiting period before reapplying for a development permit has been waived.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com