Illegal road salt operation keeps Halifax neighbourhood up at night

A noisy and illegal road salt depot operating in a residential area of Halifax is frustrating neighbours and city officials. 

People living in the area of the former Ben's bread factory on Pepperell Street can hear the sounds of equipment loading salt in the middle of the night whenever it snows.

And it's keeping resident Julianne Steeves awake. She said she's complained to her city councillor.

"It was really annoying, in the middle of the night I would hear beeping. There's a container full of salt that they load with a Bobcat. And Bobcats just backing up and going forward for hours at a time," said Steeves.

Adeline Dubreuil-Mahe said she's spent hours soothing her baby, Alexis, after she was jolted awake by the noise.

"I set up a little camp next to her bed to make sure that she feels comforted and she's not scared of the noise," she said. "Because I don't really know if it's just keeping her up, or it's a little bit scary hearing the banging noise in the middle of the night when it's dark."

Illegal operation

The road salt depot is operating illegally, without permits and violating zoning bylaws, said city spokesperson Brendan Elliott. The salt depot is not related to any municipal activities, he added.

The operator is Tracey's Landscaping. It told the city about a month ago it would move to another facility, but hasn't yet, said Elliott. 

"We want them to stop, we've asked them to stop, but they won't stop. And we have no other choice but to go after them legally," he said.

He said the city plans to lay charges soon.

In the meantime, it's not possible for the city to shut down the operation, he said.

"It's not in our power unless there's a safety issue on the property," said Elliott. "We can't go in and forcibly remove anyone or any particular activity."

Tracey's Landscaping did not make anyone available to comment to CBC.

With files from Elizabeth Chiu