Big rigs heading for a property on Mission Flats Road and fast-moving cars near a day care were concerns for City council at a public hearing Tuesday night.

In spite of those concerns, council approved the rezoning of both projects.

The first was for a recycling operation on Mission Flats Road. Ralph McRae of Northwest Properties has plans to set up a recycling operation there that would take organic waste for composting and recyclables.

All the matter would be handled inside a 25,000-square-foot facility. At its peak, he estimated it would handle 40 truckloads of material a day.

The operation is for sorting, compaction and bailing only, not for processing, he said.

But Bill Adams, engineering manager at Domtar, said traffic safety is a major concern as well as blowing plastic that could contaminate the pulp fibre.

One fountain pen can destroy 200,000 tonnes of pulp, he said.

The recycling plant is near a couple of blind corners on a road that already sees hundreds of big trucks every day, he added.

But most of council was convinced City traffic staff can come up with a plan to make the access to the recycling property safe. They voted unanimously to allow the rezone.

Second up was a request to rezone a property at Copperhead Drive and Hugh Allan Drive for a day care that could take up to 75 children.

The day care has outdoor space for toddlers, but would use the community park across the street to meet its licensing requirement for the other children.

One woman who lives in the area said she was concerned about the safety of kids crossing that street, as well as the impact on the park for other residents of Pineview Valley who want to use the space.

But Mayor Peter Milobar noted that many of the kids at the day care will be from Pineview Valley.

City traffic engineer Chris Darwent said a crosswalk would be warranted at that intersection. But there isn’t enough traffic to install traffic lights or a four-way stop.

Coun. Ken Christian noted Interior Health requires seven square metres of outdoor space per child and there are fencing regulations. He didn’t support the rezoning.

Coun. Pat Wallace didn’t, either. She said council has to look not just at the land use but traffic patterns. She also felt the park would be negatively impacted and there was inadequate parking at the day care.

The other six members of council present supported it. Coun. Donovan Cavers was absent.