Quarry Proposal In Duvall Area Riles Neighbors

DUVALL

Ed Hayes promises the Duvall Rock Quarry he wants to build on a cliffside north of town would offer "rock today, recreation tomorrow." It would be, he vows, "the neighborhood-friendly quarry."

But neighbors and at least one local habitat group say that's an oxymoron. To them, the quarry means nothing but dust, noise and traffic, not to mention the potential for environmental damage.

"It's a huge assault on our quality of life," said Clarise Mahler, whose home perches atop a cliff where workers would blast, crush and haul rock for more than half a century.

"It's just mind-blowing to think someone intends to put a rock quarry right next to these homes. I don't want to be next to an industrial area."

Welcome to the latest skirmish in the continuing war between residents and industry as rural residential growth on the Eastside continues to crash against the more traditional - though some say outdated - uses of what used to be the countryside.

This latest controversy joins a host of other rock-quarry debates in the area - in North Bend, Monroe and Granite Falls, most lately - that illustrate the conundrum of suburban growth:

More development means more pavement, and more demand for rock and gravel. Yet more development means fewer places to mine it without digging up the ire of the neighbors.

"If they really don't want the rock, then they've got to get used to riding horses to work," said Merle Ash, an Arlington land-use consultant who wrote Hayes' formal proposal to the county.

"I can certainly feel for the people in the neighborhood, but I think their perceptions far exceed the reality."

This time, Hayes, an 81-year-old Edmonds man who owns Seattle General Corp., has asked King County officials to allow him to mine 83 of the 92 acres of steep hillside he has owned since 1963.

The site looms over Highway 203 about two miles north of Duvall, and locals know it as the cliff where, in the wet season, McCauley Falls cascades through the trees to Cherry Creek and a wildlife preserve.

Hayes' proposal calls for removing about 23 million cubic yards of earth over 60 years, eventually creating a deep pit blocked from the highway by a 330-foot, tree-studded berm.

The proposal estimates about 200 trucks a day, five days a week, would cart away rock that would be blasted off the hillside no more than once a week during peak operation.

In return, Hayes' proposal promises, the falls eventually would be restored in even grander form, with terraces that could be made into fish ponds. And in 60 years, when all the rock would be gone, ballfields and parkland could be built there.

The site is surrounded by residential land, but since 1973 Hayes' hillside has been zoned for mining.

And that means, for King County, the issue won't be whether mining would be irritating to the neighbors, said Randy Sandin, a supervising engineer. The sole issue will be whether mining would so affect the environment that it should be barred.

A decision on the proposal is months, perhaps seasons, away, Sandin said.

In the meantime, the neighbors are rallying to try to thwart the project on all fronts.

"Everyone is concerned," said resident Helen Lashway. "It will reverberate across the hillside. It will destroy the waterfall. It will destroy a beautiful area, a vital habitat."

And the executive director of Washington Trout, a statewide advocacy group based in Duvall, agrees. His group fears the quarry runoff would hurt struggling chinook salmon in Cherry Creek, fish recently added to the federal list of threatened species.

"It's scary and ill-thought-out," said Kurt Beardslee. "I can't imagine they would ever get a permit for it. Just because it's zoned for that doesn't mean it's a good idea."

Some neighbors agree, and that's why they aren't worried about it.

"With the regulations now, I don't see how he can make that go," said George Anderson, who lives and runs a trucking company on land next to the proposed quarry. "I don't want to see it dug there, but I'm not too concerned."

But Ash, Hayes' consultant, says there's no reason the county shouldn't approve the plan, which includes what the company would do to contain the dust and limit its blasting, among other concessions.

"Most of these things are a matter of management," Ash said. "They've got this perception it's going to be horrible, but in reality, if it comes in, it's not that bad. For the most part, it's going to be hidden."

And he promises the improvements in 2050 or so will be worth it.

"Unless we have some kind of killer disease or nuclear holocaust, we'll have an even bigger demand for those types of facilities," he said.

That's little consolation for Cherry Gardens area residents.

"I don't think the man realizes who lives up here," Mahler said. "This is extremely upscale rural residential. It will be a visual eyesore and maybe an auditory eyesore." Ian Ith's phone message number is 206-464-2109. His e-mail address is iith@seattletimes.com ------------------------------- Meeting tomorrow

A community meeting about the proposed Duvall Rock Quarry is at 7 tomorrow evening at the Cherry Gardens Community Club, Northeast Cherry Valley Road and Kelly Road Northeast.