News - Local News

POSTED: Wednesday, Apr. 01, 2009

Whatcom County to consider major gravel pit expansion south of Acme

Whatcom County will consider allowing the major expansion of a gravel and sand pit south of Acme, after County Council members voted to docket the request for study this year.

It was one of several requests for changes to the comprehensive plan that the County Council decided on late Tuesday, March 31.

The County Council voted 5-2, with members Bob Kelly and Seth Fleetwood voting no, to consider Concrete Nor'West's request to allow gravel and sand mining on 280 acres. The property, which is zoned for commercial forestry, is located off Doran Road, which connects to Highway 9 between Acme and Wickersham. It's near an existing pit.

"Boy, I just can't think of a better location," council member Barbara Brenner said. "That's a state highway. It seems like it would be a good fit."

The vote allows county planners this year to study giving the land a special designation allowing mining. The council will vote on the special designation later this year. If approved, the company would still have to apply for permits to do mining.

Brad Barton, vice president and general manager of Concrete Nor'West, told council members the property isn't great for harvesting trees, but it contains "a very high-quality deposit of sand and gravel," which the county is in short supply of right now. The property has roughly five million tons of material, he said.

"I encourage the county to do the right thing and protect its future reserves of mineral resources," he told the council before the vote.

Before voting against the request, Fleetwood said he hasn't seen a single instance of a successful surface mine reclamation - covering it with soil and planting over it when the pit is tapped out - in Whatcom County. Kelly said he didn't support a conversion out of forestry use, and he's not convinced the South Fork Valley is a good location for such a large mining operation. Traffic is already bad there, he said.

The council considered other requests for changes to the comprehensive plan:

? Adding urban growth area in Geneva: The council voted 6-1 to reject a request to rezone 1.5 acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed from one house per five acres to three houses per acre. Council member Sam Crawford voted to consider the request. Landowners said the land shouldn't have been removed from the urban growth area last year, but it was because of a mistake.

"I think it's a bad time to add a higher level of density to an area where we're trying to decrease density," council member Laurie Caskey-Schreiber said.

Crawford said he believes the line was drawn purposely to exclude the property and reduce development potential. The landowners, who could build two more houses if the land is rezoned, are willing to pay for the review this year, he said.

"In the grand scheme of things, it's just not going to make that much difference," he said.

Rezone from agricultural to rural housing: The council voted 5-2 to reject the request to rezone 60 acres off Paradise Road, east of Ferndale, from agricultural to zoning that allows one house per five acres. The applicant said the land wasn't suitable for agriculture. Council members Sam Crawford and Ward Nelson voted to docket it.

From Blaine to Birch Bay growth area: The council voted 7-0 to reject a request to switch 85 acres from Blaine's urban growth area to Birch Bay's, a switch that possibly would have paved the way for a senior living community with medical and retail space. The property is north of Lincoln Road and west of Blaine Road.

Correcting a zoning error: The council voted 7-0 to docket a request to rezone more than one acre to allow one house per five acres. The county last year accidentally zoned the privately owned land on Lookout Avenue in Geneva for public recreation.