Shelburne council expresses concern over Strada Aggregates’ proposed quarry expansion

October 2, 2025 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

The Town of Shelburne is preparing to submit its comments and concerns regarding the proposed expansion of the Strada Aggregate quarry.

During their meeting on Monday (Sept. 22), Coun. Walter Benotto asked to discuss communications from the Township of Melancthon regarding the Strada Aggregate quarry application.

In the communications, the Township of Melancthon informed the surrounding communities that they had been notified of the application submission by Strada Aggregates for a quarry operation within its existing 360–acre sand and gravel pit, and the 60-day commenting period under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) had commenced as of Sept. 11

Coun. Benotto raised concerns about the application, particularly the lack of information on how increasing traffic for the proposed operation would impact the Shelburne community.

“All of their traffic study was done in Melancthon; none of it concerned Shelburne at all. I’m quite concerned at some point we need to speak up about [County Rd.] 124, if that’s what they’re using, because that’s what they’re stressing in their traffic report,” said Benotto.

“We need to really make our concerns known regarding that, plus the fact we have people walking on the side of the road going to different stores. Even if we have a 40 [km/h speed limit], those are darn big trucks that’ll be coming down and a lot of them,” he added.

Denyse Morrissey, chief administrative officer for the Town of Shelburne, noted to council that staff members are in the process of preparing comments on the proposal. She also added that the Town of Shelburne has existing data from past traffic studies, which will be used to prepare the comments.

“We’re going to pull those files and update that data specific to Shelburne and the greater community,” said Morrissey. “We have been working on our bypass; we have additional data to the safety, noise, and the wear and tear on our roads that would be a cost for us.”

Strada Aggregate initially brought forward a presentation to Melancthon Council in October of 2021, which noted their intention to submit an application for a proposed quarry. The Strada Aggregate quarry was proposed to be constructed in an existing gravel pit, located in the area of 4th Line and County Rd. 17 in Melancthon, and designed to extract 2 million tonnes of aggregate while extending below the water table.

The Town of Shelburne, as well as residents in Dufferin County, will have until Nov. 10 to submit their comments on the quarry application.