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1991-03074-Minutes for Meeting December 12,1990 Recorded 2/4/199191-030'4 PUBLIC HEARING MINUTES MARKEN SURFACE MINING APPLICATION C. 1 0IV"", : ,0-,10AECi C~ '1~ n i' v a, is { { ~ DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF DIRECTORS December 12, 1990 Chair Throop opened the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Board members in attendance were Dick Maudlin and Tom Throop. Also present were Dave Leslie, Planner and Bruce White, Assistant Legal Counsel. Chair Throop gave an opening statement regarding the appeal of the Deschutes County Hearings Officer's findings and conclusions to deny plan amendment 90-3, zone change 90-4 and site plan 90-16. The applicant, Harold Marken, had requested amendments to the Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan map, the County Zoning Ordinance map, and approval of a site plan to place the site on the County's mineral and aggregate inventory, to change the plan designation of that property from agricultural to surface mining, to change the zoning from exclusive farm use 20-acre minimum to surface mining, and to approve a site plan for mining select fill on the property. The concerned property was a 40-acre parcel on Rickard Road to the immediate east of the Knott Landfill. The applicant planned to operate an open pit mine for select fill if these applications were approved. The applications were before the Hearings Office on May 1, 1990 and June 19, 1990, but were denied by the Hearings Officer. The applicant had the burden of proving that he was entitled to the plan amendment, zone change, and site plan approval. Concerning the request for a plan amendment, Chair Throop explained that the county's surface mining program had not yet been acknowledged by the Land Conservation and Development Commission. Therefore, the Board had to find the applicant's proposals to be consistent with the applicable statewide land use planning goals (Goals 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, and 13). Goal 5, concerning mineral resources and other natural resources, would be measured by Oregon Administrative Rule Chapter 660, Division 16. This rule set the minimum requirements: that mineral resources be placed on an inventory, that an analysis of conflicting resources and uses be made, that economic, social, environmental and energy (ESEE) consequences of mining 'on the conflicting uses and resources be examined and vice versa, and that a resolution be reached which would advance the goal of protecting an adequate supply of mineral resources. The applicant also had to comply with the current goals and policies of the County comprehensive plan regarding surface mining in Ordinance 90-025. The proposed zone change had to be in compliance with Section 10.025 of the Deschutes County Zoning Ordinance No. PL-15, and related provisions in the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance provisions concerning surface mining beginning at Section 4.100, PAGE 1 MINUTES: 12-12-90 KFY' Pt 4ViEQ FE3 C106 0678 as amended. The proposed site plan had to meet the criteria beginning at Section 4.100, as amended, of the Deschutes County Zoning Ordinance. Chair Throop said the Hearings Officer's decision denied the application on a number of grounds: 1) that the applicant provided inadequate information to assess cumulative adverse effects of the Rose Pit on nearby residential uses and on traffic; 2) that the applicant failed to address the issue of the adequacy of the Rose Pit to meet the County's need for select fill; and 3) that the applicant failed to meet comprehensive plan policy #5 concerning the need for the select fill resource. The applicant appealed the Hearings Officer's decision to the Board of Commissioners. He said the Board would hear testimony, receive evidence, and would also consider the evidence submitted to the Hearings Officer. Chair Throop informed the audience that evidence at this hearing was to be directed toward the criteria he previously described or to any other criteria in the comprehensive land use plan or land use regulations which applied to this decision. Any issues not raised at this public hearing would not be appealable to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Chair Throop said that if any member of the Board had had any pre- hearing contacts concerning this matter, they needed to state the substance of those contacts. He asked if any members of the Board had had any such contacts. Commissioner Maudlin said he had a phone call from Donna Tibert, however they only discussed procedure. Mrs. Tibert had purchased property from his wife, who worked for the Frank Ruegg real estate company. His wife worked in the office with Nate York who had an interest in the concerned property. Commissioner Throop said he had contact approximately one year ago with the applicant, Harold Marken, concerning whether the county would be interested in acquiring the concerned property to add to the adjacent Knott Landfill. Commissioner Throop then asked Larry Rice, Public Works Director, and Rick Isham, County Counsel, to look into this proposal. Mr. Isham wrote a letter in late 1989 outlining some of the issues, and Commissioner Throop said he raised the issue at one of the Board meetings. He asked Mr. Rice and Mr. Isham to consider whether it would be of benefit to the County to have this property for landfill expansion. He then discovered there was a Midstate Electric easement which ran between the Knott Landfill and the concerned parcel which would have made it difficult to incorporate the parcel into the landfill. He also found out that an application would be filed to change the parcel from agriculture minimum lot 20 (EFU-20) to surface mining, and if the parcel was changed to surface mining, the landfill would not be a permitted or a conditional use in the surface mining zone. At that point he had no further contact with the applicant and gave no further consideration to the issue, recognizing that the Board of Commissioners would probably hear an appeal on this issue. He said this contact did not bias him in any fashion, and he would PAGE 2 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 001 remain as a member of the Board to hear this appeal. He asked if anyone wanted to challenge the qualifications of the Board to hear this appeal because of bias, prejudgment or personal interest. An unnamed member of the audience said he did not challenge the two members of the Board but because of their comments, he suggested that they wait until the third member of the Board was present to hear the appeal. Commissioner Maudlin said they had expected the third member of the Board attend the public hearing, but since there was a quorum, they had to hold the hearing. Commissioner Throop said he wanted to proceed with the hearing. There being no challenges, Chair Throop asked for a staff report. Dave Leslie, Associate Planner for the Community Development Department, gave the staff report. He pointed out that the Sunday notice in the Bulletin for this hearing erroneously said it would be held on Tuesday, December 12. A correct notice was then published indicating Wednesday, December 12, 1990. He suggested that the record of this hearing be held open for one week to afford the 10-day advance notice requirement. He had posted notices the previous day at the County building and the City Public Works building apologizing for any inconvenience and indicating Wednesday, December 12 as the correct date of the public hearing. He said three letter had been received: two in opposition and one in favor of the application. He said the Knott Pit was closed for dirt sales, and there was no intention to reopen it for the sale of dirt. The Horse Butte site (Moon site) east of town was considered and approved by the Board in July and contained approximately 193,000 cu. yds. of aggregate material which was approved for mining in five acre increments. He said the Marken site had 400,000-450,000 cu. yds of select material which they proposed to remove over a three-year period. The Central Electric Coop. Substation was located immediately to the west of the site and west of the substation was the Knott Landfill. There was a power easement crossing the property and the excavation would be to the southeast of that easement. There was an unvacated road which crossed on the interior of the parcel, and the Public Works Department had initiated the process to vacate that road. In return for that, the applicant had indicated a willingness to dedicate a 30-foot strip of property along the eastern boundary to access parcels to the north along McGillvray Road. Dave Leslie said that after the public hearing on these applications was held, the Board adopted the Goal 5 inventory and the package of material was sent to LCDC for review, which had compounded the decision-making process in this case. He said the issues raised in the Hearings Officer's decision were appropriate for the Board to consider. He said the Thompsons proposed cinder site was southeast of the Rose pit and had been denied by the Board in July 1990. There presently existed two or three homes within one-quarter mile of the proposed Marken Site. The Rose site to the south had been approved for surface mining although no site plan application had been submitted by the property owner. There were PAGE 3 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0080 seven other vacant parcels or portions of parcels within the one- quarter mile area. Subsequent to the Marken application being submitted, two conditional use permits for single family dwellings had been approved on property immediately to the east and north of the proposed mining site. Within one-half mile of the site, there were seven additional homes, and nine privately owned vacant parcels, and two county owned parcels. The paramount issue for the Board to consider concerned Goal 5 and the comprehensive plan. The Board needed to consider the significance of the site and the need for the resource versus the level of identified conflicts for uses and resources in the surrounding area. There was also the issue of cumulative impact when the Rose site opened. The identification of the conflicting uses included the potential surface mining operation being near properties with residences; noise, dust, and visual impacts resulting from the operation; potential for impact of large trucks on Rickard Road; potential for wildlife impacts; inconsistency of the surface mining zone adjacent to the residential properties; possible expansion of the Knott Landfill; difficulty in establishing ground cover during the reclamation; uncertain subsequent use of the property; and inability of the DEQ to enforce noise standards. The ESEE analysis addressed the potential conflicts of protecting the uses versus allowing the resource to be utilized, and the use of the resource and the subsequent impacts which would occur. The comprehensive plan policies which were evaluated were primarily those in effect prior to the adoption of amendments in July 1990. The applicant needed to address the amendments which were adopted and were currently in effect. The Board would reach its decision by considering the ESEE analysis, the comprehensive plan evaluation, and the zone change requirements which were not altered since the submittal of the application. The Hearings Officer's decision did not address the application for site plan due to the denial of the zone change and plan amendment application, therefore it would be up the Board if they approved the zone change and plan amendment, to consider the specific site plan requirements. The County attempted to discourage the applicant from filing until the County's package had been acknowledged by the LCDC, however if they wanted to proceed the County suggested they address the ordinance revisions which were anticipated at that time and were, in fact, subsequently adopted. So the original application addressed those standards. Bruce White, Assistant Legal Counsel, said he wanted to go through some issues which were raised during the notice of appeal--many of which were legal issues. Most of the legal issues regarding the memorandum from the applicant's attorney, which had been received that same day, concerned the cumulative impacts considering the Rose site, whether those cumulative impacts were great enough to support the denial which the Hearings Officer rendered and the issue of whether there was a need for this site since the Rose site was already on the inventory. An issue had been raised that the Rose site had been place on the inventory after the hearing on this site had been closed before the hearings officer. It was his PAGE 4 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0081 opinion that even though the package was adopted in July, 1990, the county had already taken official action to recognize Rose as a surface mining site and didn't see merit to that argument. Since this was a de novo hearing, those issues could be addressed at this hearing. Item number 4 in the notice of the appeal stated that the hearings officer erred in failing to respond to the applicant's request for inclusion of the site in the County's Goal 5 inventory. Mr. White felt that if the Board found there was evidence in the record establishing a significant resource, that the Board would have to place the site on the inventory. Item #5 dealt with comprehensive plan policy #5 in the previous comprehensive plan, however the current comprehensive plan did not include that policy. Item #6 he felt had also been superceded by the latest ordinance. Item #7 raised the issue that the hearings officer erred in requiring consideration of cumulative impacts based upon a fully developed Rose site. He said the applicant's attorney would address the issue of cumulative impacts at this hearing. Another technical issue was raised regarding the requirement that they file an appeal and pay an appeal fee. Staff felt it was appropriate to require they pay the appeal fee and recommended their request for a refund be denied. There was a statute which stated that all plan amendments concerning EFU lands had to be heard by the Board, and therefore, in such cases, applicants could not be charged an appeal fee since appealing to the Board was a matter of "right." However, Mr. White said that situation was distinguishable from this case in that this case also had with it a proposed zone change and site plan. When those applications were joined with the plan amendment, the County had the authority to require an appeal. If the applicants wanted only the plan amendment to be appealed, then it would be otherwise. But failure to appeal the zone change and site plan applications would mean that those applications would die, and they could not reapply for another six months. He assumed the applicant wanted all of their applications to be before the Board this evening, and accordingly, the County had the right to charge an appeal fee. In Mr. Sullivan's memorandum, he indicated that need was no longer an issue. Mr. White did not agree and said that need could be used in determining the significance of the resource and was still an issue which needed to be addressed. If the Board approved the applications, there was statue ORS 215.298 which required that before a permit could be issued for surface mining in EFU lands, the site had to be included on the inventory on an acknowledged comprehensive plan. The County did not yet have an acknowledged comprehensive plan, but he believed this statute was not applicable to this situation because the statute contemplated situations where surface mining was allowed as a conditional use in an EFU zone, while Deschutes County required a total rezone to surface mining. There was an issue as to whether this site needed to be acknowledged. The applicant had indicated a willingness, if there was an approval, to postpone the effective date of their application until there was an acknowledgment, and then proceed under a post-acknowledgement process. He said these were legal matters which could be resolved if the applications were approved. PAGE 5 MINUTES: 12-12-90 G106 0082 Chair Throop asked for testimony from the applicants. Ed Sullivan, attorney for the applicant, 111 SW 5th, #3200, Portland, 97204, testified that this application came out of the Rose site proceedings. The Board denied the aggregate mining on the Rose site but allowed the select fill because of evidence that it was a significant select fill site which should be placed on the County's inventory. The Board also went through the ESEE analysis and found that the external factors, i.e. noise could be controlled in an acceptable manner with stringent conditions. It was their position that the conditions placed on the Rose site made it incapable of producing the estimated 7 million cu.yds. of material. It was unlikely that the Rose site could be used at all. During the Rose site hearings, the issue was raised of other available property where select fill could be taken. One of the alternative sites pointed out was the Marken site. The Board and staff had suggested that the Marken site not be dealt with during the regular Goal 5 process but in a separate proceeding which was what the applicants were doing. The Marken site contained a comparatively rare material called select fill and was in the middle of a 200 acre area which included the Marken site, the Rose site, and the Knott Pit. The material had been tested on each of these sites and had been found to be significant. The Board felt that the quality, quantity and location of the Rose site had been proven and now had before it evidence that the quantity, quality and location of the Marken site select fill was sufficient. The Moon site was not interchangeable with this site, because it was not a select fill site. They were asking that this site be placed in the inventory, to amend the comprehensive plan so the site could be used for mining, to amend the zoning ordinance to zone this site for surface mining, and to approve the site plan which they presented. If this site were found to be a significant resource, then the Board would need to use the Goal 5 process and the administrative rule to make their decision. In making her decision, the hearing officer had to consider the existing policies, which were now replaced by the new ordinance, and the proposed policies which had not yet been completed or adopted. They were focusing their testimony on those areas where the hearings officer felt the application fell short. Commissioner Throop asked if the conditions which had been imposed on the Rose site would render the Marken site unusable as well? Mr. Sullivan said it would be more difficult but might not make it impossible. Commissioner Throop asked if it would be any more difficult to use the Marken site than the Rose site given the same conditions. Mr. Sullivan said he felt they could get enough dirt out of the site to make a profit and still meet the DEQ standards on noise. He didn't think that could occur on the Rose site. Commissioner Maudlin asked if the Moon site was the Horse Ridge site. Mr. Sullivan said yes, they were the same site. PAGE 6 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0083 Lewis Scott, 13855 SW Barlow Road, Beaverton, OR, 97005, said he was licensed as an engineering geologist and as a professional engineer. His specialty was as a materials engineer with 30 years of experience. The Knott pit deposit was unique in the area. It was a water laid deposit with an unusual depth. It was coarse grained material which was completely nonplastic with no clay. The natural gradation was such that the material could be readily and simply compacted. These facts made it desirable as a construction material site. He made a detailed study and determined that the material covered approximately 200 acres which included the Knott pit, Rose site, Marken site, and two smaller sites further to the east which had not been tested. The material was high quality and could be used as select material which was a form of aggregate rather than just barrow or selected barrow. It could be used in the construction of city streets and state and county highways which an average embankment material could not. Because of its quality and scarcity (since it was confined to 200 acres), it had been listed as a significant resource by the hearings officer. It was also located within one quarter mile or one-half mile of the Bend urban growth boundary. It would not be as valuable if it were located 10 miles from the urban growth boundary. There were other sources of similar material which were located much further away and had not been tested. He proposed excavating the material with a loader against a vertical face of at least 15-20 feet in height. A dozer would be used to strip the surface material or move material around, and a water truck would be necessary along with whatever trucks would be necessary to haul the material out. The top soil on the Marken site was 6-12 inches in depth consisted of fine grain material which DEQ required the property owner to save. They proposed to strip all 30 acres at one time, pile it, berm it along Rickard and Arnold Market Roads, and seed it so it wouldn't blow away. The select material did not contain dust. The dust that was coming out of Knott pit was there whether there was excavation or not and came from the fine material on the pit floor. This would not happen at the Marken site because the fine material would be removed all at once with a water truck on hand and would be saved for further reclamation use. Mr. Marken proposed excavating 80,000-100,000 cu. yds. a year for three to five years (approximately 400,000 cu. yds of usable material at the site). He said there had been a minimal amount of testing on the Rose site, and an operations and reclamation plan of the site would have to be developed before it could be used. He said they based the need for this material based upon County record for past sales at the Knott pit. When it was announced that sales would cease at the Knott pit, there was stockpiling of this material, and he had therefore discounted that time period. He averaged the last three years, and arrived at a figure of 80,000 cu. yds a year with a potential population growth of 1-2% over the next 10-20 years. The hearings officer raised the issue of both the Rose and Marken sites operating concurrently. He didn't think that would happen because the Marken site was much smaller, and Mr. Marken was ready to operate and would probably exhaust his source before the Rose site PAGE 7 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0084 opened. If the sites did operate at the same time, there was still a finite amount of material needed in the community each year. So the sites would split that amount between them, and the resulting activity would be approximately the same as if only one site were operating. The Horse Ridge site was a cinder source and was not usable for select material. It was 17 miles from the Bend area while the Marken site was one-half mile. Placing the Marken site on the inventory would prevent a monopoly by the Rose site and would create more competitive prices. Commissioner Maudlin asked about the fine material which was being blown out of the bottom of the Knott pit. Mr. Sullivan said this fine material was surface soil that had been blow into the pit. Commissioner Maudlin asked how deep the select material was in the Knott pit. Mr. Sullivan said it varied from 4 feet to 90 feet. In the Marken pit, the deepest place they found was 23 feet. Commissioner Maudlin asked how many acres of the Marken site would be mined if approved. Mr. Sullivan said 30 of the 40 acres would be mined. The berms along Rickard Road would be 4-5 feet high and the additional site obscuring requirement would be met by fencing since there was not enough material to make berms 10-15 feet high except on the short section on the east side. Some of the select material could be used for berms if necessary. The berm material would later be used in the reclamation process. Commissioner Maudlin asked if anyone knew how much of the soil taken out of Knott pit before it closed was still stockpiled and available for sale. Mr. Scott didn't know. Commissioner Maudlin said that there had been testimony that at the Horse Ridge site, the soil was better the further they went down, and that Mr. Scott had said he would look at the soil. Mr. Scott said he thought the site was at Highway 20 at mile post 17. He looked there and couldn't find anything. He, therefore, had not made a comparison of the soil on the Horse Ridge site. Commissioner Throop asked Mr. Scott to discuss the reclamation plan. Mr. Scott said the northern end of the site slopped, and the lower central portion was almost level. The level portion would be excavated and then following the upper slope. The surface soil would be replaced and seeding would be in accordance of DEQ requirements. The southwest corner was the lowest point on the site. The berm would receive enough artificial water from the water truck to make sure that the seeding got started, and it would be watered as required. Once the site was reclaimed, the grasses would be able to survive on their own. The southwest corner would have all of the drainage where a sump would be provided. It would be a continuous gentle slope. He discussed this reclamation plan in detail with DOGAMI, and they said it met with their requirements. Commissioner Maudlin asked Mr. Scott if he felt the Marken site would have a monopoly if the Rose site did not come on line in the next 4-5 years when the Marken site was proposing to do its mining. PAGE 8 MINUTES: 12-12-90 QOG 0085 Mr. Scott said yes it would. Commissioner Throop received a question from the audience as to the depth of the hole after the reclamation plan had been completed. Mr. Scott said the greatest depth of the hole in the southeast corner would be approximately 25 feet. There would be a setback from the existing county road and a 2 to 1 slope leading down to that. The berm material, when returned would raise it a foot or so. Daniel A. Seeman, 512 SW Broadway, Portland, said he was an associate with Kittleson and Associates, which was a traffic engineering firm in Portland, had 10 years of experience in the field, and had conducted over 100 traffic impact analyses of this type. He was familiar with the Bend transportation issues and sensitive to the issue of traffic affecting neighborhoods. He worked with Wayne Kittleson, a registered professional engineering, on the project to determine the impacts of both the Marken and Rose sites. He used some graphics in his presentation and submitted them as exhibits. They conducted a study of the traffic impacts on roadway operations and safety from activity on the Marken site in combination with the Rose site. They obtain from the County and the Forest Service traffic counts of the area. The critical intersection was at 27th and Rickard Road which was operating at the "A" level of service at the a.m. peak hour and at a "B" level of service during the p.m. peak hour which was between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Therefore the p.m. peak hour was found to be the critical hour of the day. Rickard Road was a rural collector with an asphalt surface of about 24 feet which, he felt, was more than adequate. It had shoulders on which parking was allowed. 27th Street was an arterial and had a good surface with more than adequate width. They measured the site distance that would be available from the proposed Marken site driveway and found there would be in excess of 1,200 feet of available site distance in either direction for a vehicles pulling onto the road system. The required site distance for a driveway in this area would be about 550 feet. Between the years 1985 and 1990 there were no reported accidents on Rickard Road. There were three reported accidents during that five-year period at the intersection of 27th and Rickard Road. Two of them were property damage only and one was a fatality caused by a drunken driver and not the physical design of the road or the traffic. Including the traffic generated by the opening of the Marken site, the traffic operations of the road system would remain about the same as they were currently. With 100,000 cu. yds being mined each year for four year, each truck would hold about 12 yards which would result in about 3.7 truck round trips per hour. to be generous, they doubled that amount to 8 truck trips in and 8 truck trips out during that peak hour of between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. They also considered the effects on the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. time period since it was the peak hour for the ambient traffic in the area. Because the facility would be closed during that time, there would probably be one round trip by the PAGE 9 MINUTES: 12-12-90 X06 0086 water truck and the two employees would be leaving the site during this time. For an analysis of what would happen if both the Marken site and the Rose site were opened, they used 16 truck trips. At 27th and Rickard Road, the level would be "A" during the truck peak and "B" during the ambient peak with both of the sites combined. Even in February, when there was a significant increase in traffic at the Knott pit because of its impending closure, the County staff indicated there had been no traffic operational problems nor safety problems associated with the higher level of truck traffic (four times what they would expect to happen at the Marken site. Albert G. Duble, acoustical engineer, 16905 NE Kings Grade, Newberg, said he had been a practicing acoustical engineer in Oregon since 1981 and had 25 years experience in all phases of acoustics and noise control engineering. He had taught noise control engineering as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA in Chicago for six years. He had been asked to conduct a detailed study of the effects of the two sand extraction sites (Rose and Marken) on the residences located along Rickard Road west of the mining sites and also review a report from DSA for the two residences east and northeast of the Marken site. The impact on those two homes was predicted to be within DEQ guidelines if a five foot berm were erected above the line of sight along the east side of the property which would create about a 15-foot noise barrier. The DSA study had not consider the Rose site or the combined truck traffic on Rickard Road in their analysis, so he fulfilled the request of the hearings officer to consider the impacts from both sites in his report. He passed out his report to the Commissioners. The DEQ had them measure the ambient noise and to that they were allowed to add or degrade the ambient noise level by 10 decibels (DBA) which was doubling the loudness as humans would hear it. The "A rated scale" acted liked the human ear which was why the DEQ used it. He said the L1 was 1% of the time noise level, the L10 standard was worth 6 minutes or 10% of an hour, and the L50 was the mean and represented 30 minutes out of the hour. The Oregon standards were L1, L10 and L50. The L90 was near the overall background noise or 54 minutes out of the hour. Automobile traffic down Rickard Road would be somewhere in the L50 level at the peak hour with 326 cars and 10 trucks. The trucks would be at the L10 level because even though the trucks were noisier, they weren't there as long as the cars. He said to keep in mind that it was a time-weighted standard. The cars formed the background noise level, and every five or ten minutes, the peaks above that level would be from the haul trucks. He studied the existing noise environment at the Marcotte residence which was the last house on Rickard Road and was closest to the site. The noise level at the. Marcotte home varied between L50 and L57. The expected peak truck hour in the afternoon was approximately 3-4 p.m. since truckers generally avoided the normal peak traffic times. He said that automobile and truck traffic noise was just about equal during that peak hour with more time between trucks than between cars. A limit on haul truck traffic of seven round trips (14 pass bys) per hour PAGE 10 MINUTES: 12-12-90 UA106 008 7 would meet the DEQ standard at the Marcotte residence. Currently there were 4-5 truck pass bys per hour. This volume would also meet the standards at the Manwiller residence which was closer to the Rose pit on the south side of Rickard Road. There might be times when the L10 DEQ standard might be exceeded which would be in a random fashion depending upon the amount of sand orders received by the two operations. He suggested some mitigating controls in his report which would lessen the noise impact even though it was within legal limits. He suggested having signs installed on Rickard Road prohibiting the use of truck Jake brakes at that stop sign since they increased the sound output of a diesel truck by at least 20 decibels. He suggested that the hauling operators investigate using larger capacity trucks which would allow them to haul more sand in fewer trips. He suggested that the acoustic back up signals, which were annoying to surrounding residents, be removed and that wheel belts (which made a much less annoying sound) be installed. At the distance of the closest residences, the equipment used at the site would be under the DEQ standard by possibly 3-4 decibels and below the ambient noise considering the closing possible positioning of the equipment. The Rose site would be more difficult to control because of the proximity of the homes on southwest bench overlooking the site. Without specific controls to the vehicles or very high berms, the equipment would have to work a long distance from the bench and the Manwiller home. A low five-foot berm would serve no noise reducing purposes. The ambient noise measurements included the existing truck traffic. The future truck traffic which was added included all the possible traffic from these two pits but did not include any other increased truck traffic in the area. David York, 61771 Arrow Avenue, Bend, said he was a general contractor and was building 16 homes this year in Deschutes County. They have had a problem getting good top soil to back fill foundations since the Knott Landfill stopped selling dirt. When Knott quit, he was spending $66 for a 12 yd. load of back fill material. He recently got back fill material from the Horse Ridge site and paid $110 a load, and it was 17 miles east of Bend. This would increase the costs of housing in Deschutes County, and there was already a shortage of affordable housing in the area. Terry Fidler, 20220 Nichols Road, Bend, said he had a small excavation business and was in favor of the Marken pit. It would keep him from hauling through the downtown core area and school areas. Most of the fill material that he was currently getting was from the west side of Bend. Dick Marken, 61488 Orion Dr., Bend, said he was a contractor and a partner in Orien Greens and was in favor of the new site. In the homes he built in 1990, he started using fill from Demolition but it wasn't good enough even for that. The Horse Ridge site was charging $110 a load (or $3,000-$5,000 to completely back fill one house) making it unaffordable for the home buyer. They needed PAGE 11 MINUTES: 12-12-90 I~ 0100 0088 better dirt now, and felt they needed the Rose pit and the Marken pit for the future growth of Bend. Chair Throop closed the testimony for proponents and opened testimony from the opponents. Ric Ergenbright, 60380 Arnold Market Road, Bend, testified that he was owner of TL 2200 which was approximately one mile from the Marken site and was testifying on behalf of the Southeast Rural Homeowners group which was opposed to surface mining on this property and supported the hearings officer's decision. He said the people speaking in opposition were each taking one issue, but that they shared a consensus of opinion regarding the concerns presented. If they failed to individually address each issue, it should not be construed as a lack of interest in or support of those issues since they were just attempting to avoid a redundancy of testimony. He was a proponent of controlled growth and development. People moved to Central Oregon for the rural environment and superior living conditions, therefore protection of the environment must be an important factor in any land use decision. The area affected by the Marken site, Rose site and Knott pit was a very desireable rural neighborhood which was why it was zoned EFU-20. Goal 5 resources in the area which were in conflict with the Marken proposed action were: abundant wildlife, spectacular scenery, exceptional air quality, low ambient noise, and the health and safety of the residents. This area was an important wild life habitat for deer, coyotes, hawks, owls and eagles. In the staff report on the Rose site, it was recommendation that there be a restriction on the size of the disturbed area because the site was within a winter deer use area and should be considered a sensitive habitat. The dust from a surface mine would severely damage the scenic resource. He again read from the staff report on the Rose site where it said dust produced as a result of surface mining activities could adversely affect the scenic view of the high Cascades to the west, Mt. Washington and Mr. Jefferson to the northwest, Smith Rock to the northeast, Horse Ridge to the east, and Newberry Crater to the south. Being higher and more sparsely populated than the City of Bend, the southeast area enjoyed cleaner air than the rest of the region except on days when the wind blew into the dump and filled the air with stench and debris. The Rose site would also add to the negative impact of the landfill and the Marken site would compound it. The ambient noise level in the area was so low that they could hear the pinging of trucks backing up in the landfill several miles away. The sound of traffic could be heard more than one mile away. He felt the most serious Goal 5 conflict was the health and safety of neighborhood residents. A new elementary was being built across from the County Public Works buildings on 27th Street. The increased truck traffic would be a dangerous threat to those already using these roads. The Bend school buses did not pick up kids who lived close to school, and the children in this area would attend the new school on 27th. They would be walking PAGE 12 MINUTES: 12-12-90 G'106 0089 or riding their bikes past the Marken site, Rose site, and the landfill to get there. This area was often used for adult bicycling. He asked if a zone change was needed for the County to purchase Mr. Marken's land for use in expanding the landfill? Commissioner Throop said that was not an issue, and if this zone change were made, a landfill would not be an appropriate use for a reclamation plan since a landfill was not a permitted or conditional use in a surface mine zone. Mr. Ergenbright said the southeast rural residential neighborhood was a special environment, and he urged that the Board uphold the hearings officer's decision because of the cumulative effect of the landfill, the Rose site, and the Marken site. Gary Fowles, 107 NW St. Helens, Bend, testified that he owned property within the one-half mile radius of the Marken land. He felt the County had already inventoried a sufficient resource to meet the needs of the area. The County's Ordinance 90-27 stated that sufficient inventory was available to meet the housing needs of Deschutes County, so the Marken site was not needed. He felt there was conflicting testimony by the experts who testified one way or the other depending on which side was paying them. Mr. Scott had estimated there was approximately 2 mil. cu. yds. of select fill material in the Rose site when it was later determined to hold 7.5 mil cu. yds. He did not feel that the 5% (400,000 cu yds) of select fill material at the Marken site was really a significant amount of resource relative to the already identified, quantified, and approved site within 50 feet of the applicant's property. He felt that a site which contained 7.5 mil. cu. yds of material would be more economically viable than a site with 400,000 cu. yds., since the restrictions on the Rose site would undoubtedly be placed on the Marken site also. When the top soil was put into berms and vegetation was removed from the site, the dust would blow onto all of the adjoining land owners. He asked if the County had considered how all of the environmental controls discussed would be monitored, i.e. watering for dust control, since the County could not control the violations which were already happening in the County. He doubted that there was a shortage of fill material in Deschutes County, i . e where did Fred Meyer get its fill? He suggested that the Board get testimony from contractors who were not relatives of the applicant to find out if there really was a shortage of fill material. He didn't think Mr. Marken would sell fill as cheaply as the Knott pit had and would charge whatever he could get. Joan Hale, 60535 Bobcat Rd. Bend, testified that she lived within three-quarters of a mile of the Marken site and was a real estate broker. She did not want three, big pits in the area. During a recent wind storm, she could not see because of the dust and debris coming from the landfill. It would be an increased hazard, especially from the children walking and biking on the road. PAGE 13 MINUTES: 12-12-90 0106 0090 Kevin McBride, 21620 Rickard Road, Bend, testified that he owned the EFU-20 piece just east of the proposed Marken site. In the last twelve months, the County had issued between seven and nine conditional use permits for farm related or nonfarm single family residences within one half mile of this site--one of which was him. Three of them were within one-quarter mile of the site. Approving the Marken pit would demonstrate to the people of the County and LCDC that there were inconsistencies in planning and zoning in Deschutes County. He had three boy ages 10, 8 and 7 and came up from California because of the quality of life. He had a bull which was worth $600 who died because he ate a bag of garbage but couldn't digest it and starved to death. Every time the wind blew from the south or southwest, there was a lot of light, plastic and paper debris on his property. They would pick up at least one garbage can full every week when the wind blew. If the Marken site were stripped of trees and brush, it would create a funnel and more garbage would end up on his property. From his foundation, five feet above his line of sight out be 22 feet, and he didn't want to live next to a pile of dirt 22 feet high. How would they get trucks up there to water the grass they were planting? He submitted a letter dated May 8, 1990, from Jean Williamson, a realtor for Frank Ruegg Realty, in which she said her "immediate concern was for the value of the residential acreage within the close proximity of this pit. The homeowners nearby have a valid concern especially since they were under the understanding that the LCDC rulings would protect surrounding properties. I hope that when the time comes to make a decision, that you will examine the facts, look to your conscience, and realize the effect that your decision will have on all the adjoining property owners. Please do not allow Mr. Marken and Mr. York to change the zoning to surface mining." Mike Broadbent, 1115 NE Burnside, Bend, said he was testifying about the economics effects on the surrounding property versus the economics of the need for the dirt being mined. There was value to the existing rural neighborhood. Any mining done in the area would have a negative impact on nearby property values which was attested to by four real estate appraiser. They would not commit to any specific figure, but two of them mentioned the Tumalo Rim subdivision as an example of a good development hampered by the proximity of a rock pit. Property values were less than they would have been in the same development without the rock pit, even though the pit was no longer active. He estimated that if the desirability value of properties within a one mile radius of this pit was decreased by 5%, property values would be reduced by a similar figure. He estimated an average loss in value of $12,500 for each property owner. Since the Rose site had already been approved by the County, there should be no arguments about the need for more dirt mines. The Demolition dump had an adequate supply of a lesser quality of dirt. He felt the east side Horse Ridge site was an appropriate location for a dirt pit even though it would increase the costs of new housing. If an average home would PAGE 14 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0091 take 5-10 loads of back fill, the increased cost would be approximately $250-$500 which he felt was insignificant compared to what the surrounding property owners were being asked to sacrifice. Bruce Tibert, 60923 Larsen Road, Bend, testified concerning the environment and energy requirements of the ESEE analysis. The hearings officer stated that in light of the County's approval of the Rose pit site, there wasn't sufficient information to effectively complete the Goal 5 analysis, and that the Marken site could not be accurately evaluated without reference to similar impacts generated by the Rose pit site. He said they moved to this area because of the beauty of the ponderosa pines, the tall junipers and the sense of tranquility of rural farm life. Over 100 pine trees would be lost if the Marken site were cleared. The top soil would be exposed to the wind and would be eroded and blown into the neighboring properties. The truck traffic would be a danger to the people of the area and the animals. The proposed reclamation plan was only to plant grass in the big empty pit. Deschutes County was a growing community, and the Commissioners should balance growth considering what was special about the area: trees, wild life and a peaceful farm community. Christine Kerlin, 21730 Rickard Rd., Bend, testified that she was within one-quarter of a mile from the Marken site. She felt that the Marken site should be evaluated assuming that the Rose site would also be developed since it had been approved for that purpose. She didn't want to live in a area that was just under the DEQ noise limits. She asked that those who were in opposition to the Marken site to stand silently, which they did. She said human being would be affected negatively by this proposal. Michael Jeffries, 21725 Rickard Road, Bend, testified that he would be moving to this address, which was approximately 1,280 ft. from the Marken site, in January. He presented a petition from the neighborhood (Arnold Loop, Rickard Road, Larson). He and his wife purchased the property because they wanted to move to a quiet, rural area, which would be disturbed by the surface mine. He concurred with the hearings officer that the site should be denied. He said that conditional use permit, when authorized in this area, were to maintain the rural nature of the area, and he did not feel that a dirt mine would maintain the rural nature of the area. The noise conflict level would be high, six days a week and ten hours a day. He was in the building products business and would be working out of his home. The only road that his daughter could use to ride her bike or horses was Rickard Road, and he was concerned with the safety issue. The berms would create a tremendous amount of dust, and it would be very difficult to get grass to grow on them. Neighbors who had tried it had trouble even when they had regular irrigation. The zoning ordinance indicated that the purpose of a surface mining zone was to allow the extraction of nonrenewable surface mining material while protecting the health PAGE 15 MINUTES: 12-12-90 k `106 0092 and safety of adjoining be protected because diminished because of tl said there had to be a possible violation, and would depend on whether They currently did not complaints they were z resources would be dimir property would be dimir be used for after the traumatized because of 1 the area. Manv felt residences and uses. The health would not of the dust, and the safety would be e trucks. When he spoke with the DEQ, they complaint before they would investigate a whether they would go out on a complaint there were resources or manpower available. have the manpower to act on all of the eceiving. With Ballot Measure 5, those ished further. The ability to resell their ished. He questioned what the site could reclamation. Some of his neighbors were he proposed and approved surface mining in :he Countv would lust "rubber stamp" the application. One man felt he had a heart attack and two people were under counseling because of the approval of the Rose site, so there were social consequences. He had Century West Engineering do a study of the material at the Moon site, and they concluded that the material was as good as or superior to the Knott/Marken material or the Dodds Road pit material. Near the Moon pit, you wouldn't see the dust or the pit, and there were no residents nearby. There was only 12 miles difference between the Moon site and the Marken site. The County Road Department had said the because the trucks would go both ways on Rickard Road, the Marken surface mine would have a detrimental affect on the road. Rickard Road was already crumbling from Arnold Loop down to Gosney. He agreed with the hearings officer that this mine did not belong in this community. Karen Marcotte, 60789 Rickard Road, Bend, said she had not received any formal notice regarding this proposed site and had heard about it from her neighbors. She was concerned with the traffic on Rickard Road because the current traffic was already exceeding the speed limit. The children waited for their school bus on this street, and when the new school was built, they'd be walking to school down Rickard Road and up 27th Street. She was also concerned about the projected noise level from the trucks being just one decibel below the DEQ standard. She was on the corner of Rickard and 27th and knew there had been a number of accidents in this area. There were times when the dust was so thick that she couldn't see her neighbor's house. She almost lost a cow that had swallowed garbage also. Hugh McGillivray, 60845 Larson Road, Bend, testified that he was about one-half mile from the Marken site and agreed with his neighbors. He said Mr. Scott had said that the Horse Butte cinder pit was 17 miles away from the urban growth boundary. When the Horse Butte site was only three road miles from his house. A local contractor delivered over $2,000 worth of fill dirt to him at $45 a truck load from Knott pit, and two week before Knott closed, he ordered 12 more truck loads and was told it would cost him another $5 a truck load. He said someone had been advertising cinders in the newspaper for $45 a truck load and fill dirt for $55 a truck PAGE 16 MINUTES: 12-12-90 G106 0093 load. Commissioner Maudlin said the add did not say how much dirt you could get for the $55--it could have been a pickup load. At 10:35 p.m., Bruce White said he had just received a request for a continuance from Mr. Sullivan. Commissioner Throop said they would probably agree to take the rebuttal testimony this evening, leave the record open for written response, and then establish at date when the Board would make its decision. Commissioner Maudlin asked Mr. Sullivan if he had made the request so that he could submit his rebuttal in writing. Mr. Sullivan said they could go either way, whatever the Board desired. Commissioner Maudlin said they would be willing to leave the hearing open for a few days for the submission of written rebuttal before making a decision. In response to a question from the audience, Commission Throop explained that rebuttal was an opportunity to respond to the other side's arguments which were heard at this public hearing and did not constitute new testimony but could contain new evidence. After further discussion, Chair Throop announced that they would take oral rebuttal from proponents and opponents this evening, then anyone who wanted to submit additional information in writing could do so, and a decision would be made at a prearranged time. Proponents rebuttal testimony: Lewis Scott said concerning Mr. Ergenbright's testimony about the value of the rural environment, that good quality construction material was also valuable and must be protected. He pointed out that the use of the Marken site would be temporary and would be completed in 3-5 years. The Century West report which said the Rose site had 7.2 million cu. yds. of fill material was based on "intuition." The only testing that had been done were backhoe test holes which went to a maximum depth of 15 feet which would compute out to 1.6 million cu. yds. His original estimate had been 3-4 million cu. yds., and he still felt there was 3 million cu. yds. at the site. Commissioner Throop asked if the Marken site were given similar conditions as the Rose pit, how much material would he estimate would be available for mining. Mr. Scott said the 3-1 slopes condition would remove approximately 20% of the material from mining. The same restrictions had not been previously placed on the Marken site because it was a much smaller area (30 acres) than the Rose site, and should be mined all at once time. This would allow the entire 30 acres to be stripped of the top soil which was more efficient and would reduce the dust. It would also allow the site to be completed more rapidly and, therefore, reclaimed sooner. Commissioner Throop asked if the site could mined in 5 acre cells and Mr. Scott said it could, but he did not know whether it would be economical to do so. PAGE 17 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0094 Mr. Scott said that if there wasn't enough top soil to make the berms, then the select material would be used for berms and recovered later. High quality fill was not available at other sources in the general area. Since this would be a long, sloping, evenly graded site, it would not be a 2-1 slope all the way around and would not be a deep hole. It was his professional judgement that the Rose site could not be used economically because of the restrictions. If the Marken site was not approved, there would be a monopoly. If it were approved and operating prior to the Rose site, the monopoly would only be temporary until the Rose site went into production. Daniel Seeman regarding the safety of bicyclist and pedestrians using Rickard Road and Arnold Loop that only 5% of the truck traffic or one truck trip per hour during peak traffic would be headed to the east on Rickard Road. Truck traffic would generally be going at a slower speed than general traffic. There had been no reports to the County regarding speeding problems on Rickard Road, and there had been only three reported accidents in the last five years. He said the one fatal accident would not have been avoided had the landfill been eliminated or the road characteristics been changed since it was the result of drunk driving. Commissioner Maudlin said that previously Mr. Seeman had testified that the site distance both directions from the road, which would enter the Marken site, was in excess of 1,200 feet. Commissioner Maudlin said the traffic traveling to the east would take a curve that was somewhat lower and wondered whether there would be a site problem for people coming to the stop sign and turning left (to the west). Mr. Seeman said that vehicles heading northbound and making a left turn onto Rickard Road would have a problem looking up the hill to the east. However the truck driver coming out of the site would be able to see the traffic at the stop sign clearly. Al Duble said there were low ambient noise levels in the area. On Rickard Road the automobiles set the background noise at about 63, and then the trucks would add another 3. During the daytime he doubted anyone could hear the back up signal unless they were as close as the Marcottes and Manwillers, and since this equipment would not operate at night, there wouldn't be a problem then. He said the berm might have to go higher than 15 feet, he had just estimated that height. The natural topography protected the house in the northeast quadrant, so a berm was not needed there. The elevation of the mining site was a gentle slope down from the houses which was a better situation than at the Rose site where there were numerous homes on the southwest bluff overlooking the pit site. He didn't believe the Rose site could supply sand for 14 years and meet the DEQ regulations because of noise. Mining in five acre increments was one way to reduce noise, but the Marken site would be able to use semi-permanent noise barriers to block PAGE 18 MINUTES: 12-12-90 Q06 0095 the noise. He said the trucks were relatively slow coming away from the stop light even when empty. The fastest truck he clocked was about 37 mph. The average automobile speed was 44-45 mph with the highest at about 50 mph. With those speed relationships, he found the noise level to be 63. Commissioner Maudlin asked if the increased noise level on the bluff southwest of the Rose site would also happen on the rock bluff that was located on the northeast section of the Marken site. Mr. Duble said he didn't think it would be as much because the Marken site had a gentle slope up to the northeast corner of the property while the bluff on the Rose site was abrupt. Ed Sullivan said the Century West Engineering report indicated there was "good stuff" on the Horse Ridge site. Aside from the distance issue, what about quantity, quality and factoring this site through the Goal 5 process. This site shouldn't be allowed to be brought in this process at the end. The environmental issues were matters for the Board to balance in the ESEE analysis. He felt the hearings officer's opinion would have approved the Marken site if it had been looked at without consideration of the Rose site. The site was not within a wildlife corridor. He said the Board had to consider tradeoffs--how to deal with the need for fill and select fill within the urban growth boundary for construction. They were not sure the Rose site could be used and certainly not to the extent of the 7.5 million cu. yds. which had originally been estimated at that site. Mr. Scott said that given the restrictions on the Rose site, there was only 3 million cu. yds. of minable material at the Rose site. ORS 215.185 allowed the County to enforce site conditions. Fred Meyer got its fill from the Dodds site which was now depleted. Chair ThrooQ asked for opponent rebuttal testimony. Bruce Tibert said this wasn't Portland and the noise levels that would be considered good in Portland weren't acceptable in his area. He was concerned that a two-to-one slope would be too steep. It was difficult to get grass to grow without lots of water and fertilizer. They would like to keep the community from further development of pits. There was no evidence that the Rose site would not be developed. Ric Ergenbright said that when Rose & Associates realized they couldn't use their site for residential development, because of the Knott Landfill, they petitioned to have the site zoned for surface mining. Commissioners Maudlin and Throop said they had not remembered this coming out in the testimony for the Rose site. Mr. Ergenbright was concerned that the closest property owners to the surface mining sites would decide to request surface mining zoning for their property rather than live next to surface mines. He felt the Marken site was not the only available dirt pit with high quality dirt. He said the environmental Goal 5 resources should PAGE 19 MINUTES: 12-12-90 G job 0096 be equally considered. His property was over a mile from the landfill, and he could hear the noise from the landfill even during the day. He had never seen a truck going as slow as 35 mph on Rickard Road. He read an article about the Bend area pointing out that most visitors came to the high desert because of its quiet, small-town ways, and the quality of life and clear air. He said the County's July 12, 1990, report to LCDC stated that the County inventory was complete. Karen Marcotte said there were a number of accidents in this area which were not reported. She felt the residents of this area had already had their share of trade-offs with the landfill and the Rose pit. Michael Jeffries said he would be moving into a home that was 1,280 feet from the proposed site. He said there was available material at the Moon pit which was not 17 miles from the urban growth boundary but was 17 miles from the center of Bend and 13 miles from the urban growth boundary. He felt the neighbors' need to maintain the current rural setting was greater than that of the building industry. The excavators had been spoiled because the Knott pit sold dirt for $1.50 cu. yd. The costs would not increase that much with each house. He felt there was a danger to the substation should the wall cave in. Trucks coming from the east went very fast when unloaded, and he had clocked one at 70 mph. Most cars went 55 mph. He said shoulders on Rickard Road only went from 27th to Arnold; the remainder was crumbling all the way to Gosney. He wondered what assurance they had the DEQ standards would be met and enforced. Kevin McBride said that the Commission should plan for the future of this growing community and place surface mining pits further out of town. Gary Fowles said the trucks did not go slower than the cars in this area. He thought the County had reliable data when it included the 7.5 million cu. yds. of dirt at the Rose site. He had two children who would be going to the new school which was being built across from the County Public Works Department, and he was concerned about the children walking on roads without shoulders with big trucks going by. He felt the increase in the costs of buying dirt at the Horse Ridge site was a small price to pay to have the conflicting issues out of the residential area. Chair Throop said that written comments would be accepted until 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 20, 1990; and the decision would be made on Friday, December 21, 1990. No testimony would be taken at the meeting on December 21, 1990, however everyone was welcome to attend. PAGE 20 MINUTES: 12-12-90 C106 0097 DESCHUTE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS To Thro Chair Lois Bristo Prante, Commissioner r Dick Maudlin, Commissioner BOCC:alb PAGE 21 MINUTES: 12-12-90