Opposition over a potential rock quarry in North Clark County across the Lewis River from Woodland has led to neighbors in the area resurrecting an old group to organize.
On Jan. 24, the reformed North Fork Neighborhood Association met for the first time at the Oak Tree in Woodland. Apart from voting for association officers, roughly 20 people gathered in-person and online to discuss plans to expand Clark County’s surface mining overlay. The expansion would include 46 acres of undeveloped property near Cardai Hill Road.
Ryan McShannon, one of the residents who lives along the road that stretches across the proposed mine property, said he learned of the overlay expansion the day after Thanksgiving when he found a sign posted at the end of the road announcing the plans for the change.
McShannon mentioned the original incarnation of the neighborhood association formed over concerns about a similar attempt to bring a rock quarry to the property decades ago. That attempt failed in the late 1990s before the property changed hands to Cardai Hill Rock Quarry LLC in 2000.
The residents in the neighborhood association have Woodland mailing addresses, but since they live across the Lewis River, they are outside of city limits and are in a different county than the majority of the city.
Woodland does have an interest in a potential mine, however. At a Dec. 15 Clark County Planning Commission meeting, Woodland Community Development Director Travis Goddard testified against the overlay as he pointed to noise and traffic impacts to the community.
McShannon said based on research he’s done, the property values of homes within a five-mile radius of the quarry could drop as much as 35%.
The planning commission voted against the overlay expansion, though ultimately the Clark County Council will decide whether the move will be approved.
Two councilors were in attendance at the Jan. 24 meeting. District 1 Councilor Glen Yung attended virtually, while District 5 councilor Sue Marshall appeared in person.
The neighborhood association is within Marshall’s district. As the owner of a farm near the Clark County Fairgrounds, Marshall said issues for rural residents on land use are important to her. She wants to make “sure that everybody gets an opportunity to be involved in the decisions of how we grow.”
Marshall said she couldn’t tell what the opinions of the other councilors are on the mine, though she noted the pressure of development in the county is strong, which requires aggregate for building.
Marshall said once a decision on zoning is made by the council it will be out of their hands and they won’t intervene in the permitting process.
“This is a really critical point,” Marshall said.
McShannon noted a development proposal hasn’t been submitted at the current stage of the process. Even without a project, he said it is obvious what direction the property owners are taking.
“If you’re applying for a surface mining overlay on property, I think anyone (can guess) that your next intention would be to open surface mining operations,” McShannon said.
He said another group, the East Fork Alliance Neighborhood Association, has encouraged the residents in the North Fork association to push back on the potential rock quarry. The East Fork association has been similarly opposed to expanded surface mining, as the Yacolt Mountain Mine near their residences has sought to expand existing operations through a process similar to what the Cardai Hill Rock Quarry is eyeing.
Getting legal representation for the neighborhood association has proven difficult thus far. McShannon said he has reached out to 15 attorneys, but “not one called me back.”
He said there are a few issues in getting that representation. That includes what funds the neighborhood association could raise to pay for an attorney.
McShannon said those in the neighborhood who oppose the rock quarry have received some legal advice from the East Fork Alliance Neighborhood Association’s attorney, though he hasn’t been retained to represent the North Fork association.
Reactivating the neighborhood association is a way for residents to catch up and make their case against something they feel will significantly impact their lives.
“If we were to have a neighborhood association (before), we would have had more than a two-week head start,” McShannon said.
Though residents are pushing back on the mine, McShannon acknowledged surface mining would address Clark County’s need for materials.
“We just have an opposing position … that this is just the wrong spot,” McShannon said.
