The anticipated date for construction to start is September of 2023; the project is currently in ‘early planning’

Several groups have started a collaborative effort to work against a Knife River concrete batch plant that is proposed to be built at 7511 NE 101st Street in Vancouver. 

Knife River Concrete Company hasn’t officially put in a permit application for the build on the 2.69-acre gravel lot, but the group called Friends of Central Vancouver expect they soon will. Additionally, Construction Journal Construction Journal reported that the anticipated date for construction to start is September of 2023, and that the project is currently in “early planning.”

Despite heavy opposition from the public, Knife River was granted a special zoning exemption to build the batch plant. The lot, owned by Pioneer Industrial, was originally denied the permit by the Clark County Council in 2020, but after filing an appeal in 2021, the council settled and agreed to rezone the area from light industrial (IL) to industrial railroad (IR). This change allows plants like Knife River’s concrete to be built on the lot. 

According to the land use review from June of 2020, the surrounding lots to all directions are designated as IL. That same review indicates that the lot is approximately 400 feet from residential zoning, and about 750 feet from “existing residential homes.” Further, the study said, “Based on the site’s limited size, limited rail access and incompatibility with existing nearby residential uses, staff [sic] finds that the site is not suited for those ‘heavy industrial uses’ that would be permitted should the zone change be approved. Further, Staff asserts that the detrimental aspects of the uses that would be permitted outweighs the potential use of the rail line in this location.”

What changed the following year when the County Council settled and agreed to the site zoning change? The company’s appeal sent the matter to the Superior Court after the hearing examiner, Joe Turner, denied the request twice. After a settlement agreement in the court, the decision was sent back to Turner, who at that point made the decision to overturn his previous ruling and approve the rezone request. It’s unclear what prompted Turner to acquiesce Pioneer Industrial’s request at that time. 

Rachel Haigh, who is working with Friends of Central Vancouver and lives in the lot’s nearby residential area, said that due to state law, the process should have included notifying residents within 350 feet for a change such as this. She said that they only notified what appears to be an abandoned house, which is also in an IL zone.

The land use review makes it clear that the zoning change allows Pioneer Industrial a much wider potential of uses for the lot. For example, where in IL zoning, sawmills, paper mills, and chemical manufacturing (to include cement and ready-mix concrete) are prohibited. In IR zoning, they’re permitted.

Because of this, Haigh argues that there is a huge potential for silica dust to be prevalent in these residential areas. In her Change.org petition, Haigh said, “While residents of this neighborhood have happily co-existed with light industrial applications for years, this concrete plant has been granted a railroad industrial permit as a special exception. The plant will run 24/7, and expects to have 200 trucks moving through the facility each day. Concrete plants are notorious for spreading toxic silica dust into the air, and this could impact up to a five mile [sic] radius, potentially coating nearby CASEE [Center for Agriculture, Science and Environmental Education] & Prairie High School in a layer of dust.”

In fact, another resident of the area, Adam Turigliatto, who is also a licensed respiratory therapist, said at the January 2023 County Council meeting, “What can come from inhaling silica dust? The disease process would be silicosis, which occurs when the lungs harden and develop scarring around the inhaled and entrapped silica particles, decreasing the lung tissue compliance and elasticity.”

Aside from the health concerns, residents at the meeting brought up the excessive noise that would occur 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a plant such as this, the increase of bright lights in the area, heavily increased traffic, and visibility issues.

On Saturday (Feb. 25), the Friends of Central Vancouver will host a walking tour of the gravel lot, said Haigh. They have invited several county councilors and media members to attend in hopes they will gain awareness of their grievances.

Haigh said that Sue Marshall, the council’s District 5 representative, has committed to attend. District 2 Councilor Michelle Belkot responded, Haigh said, that she was not in favor of the plant but did not commit to her attendance for the event. District 1 Councilor Glen Yung apparently told her that he was declining the invitation because if more than two councilors attend an event, then it has to be registered as an “official meeting.” The public is invited and encouraged to attend to see for themselves just a portion of the area that would be impacted by a plant of this sort.

“We are really hoping that we’re able to get our voices heard here,” Haigh said. “The reality is, this project is not only bad for the residents, it’s bad for the watershed, it’s bad for air quality all over Vancouver, and we don’t know that Knife River will hold up their end of the bargain. They’re a company that’s owned by a big national corporation. If you Google ‘Knife River Corporation’ and the word ‘violations,’ you get a ton of hits … pollution is a line item for them. This is my home.”