Owners of the former Russo Sawmill property given three-year reclamation permit

Photo: Contributed

Owners of the former Russo Sawmill property on Old Vernon Road have been granted a three-year non-farm use permit in an attempt to return the property to agricultural production.

The decision comes nearly two decades after the sawmill, which started operations in the 1950s, was shut down by the current owners.

Significant amounts of wood waste was left stockpiled on the property, and while much of that wood was burned or removed, some remains with new materials added.

Numerous attempts by the city to have the property remediated since the sawmill closed in 2005 have been unsuccessful.

The latest attempt through the ALC gives the property owner a three-year window in which to reclaim the land for agricultural purposes.

The applicant was seeking to do the work over a six year period, however the ALC decision handed down at the end of May determined a “three year timeline is more reasonable and appropriate than six years, and that the rapid reclamation of the land should be prioritized.”

After three years only uses under the ALR will be permitted.

Under provisions of the permit, the importation of wood chips, sand, subsoil, and topsoil for soil blending will be allowed for the first year, while soil bending including grinding, screening, sorting, piling, mixing and decomposing of historic wood waste, new wood chips and sand to create soil products for commercial sale will be allowed over the life of the permit.

Processing of rocks, boulders and gravel for commercial sale will also be permitted.

The City of Kelowna was supportive of the application to the ALC, stating in March of 2023 the ALC was better suited to deal with the issue than the city.