Gravel Pits Embedded In Debate After Opposing Gravel Mine, Man Decides He Wants One

A man who once complained bitterly about having a gravel pit next to his land now wants one of his own.

Or does he?

David Haman, who owns a 160-acre wheat field on the prairie 1-1/2 miles south of Rathdrum, has asked Kootenai County to let him develop a gravel mine at the corner of Wyoming Avenue and Green Ferry Road.

But Rathdrum officials - who recently bought land next to Haman for future sewage treatment - have asked the county to block the request. They say it’s not compatible with neighboring land uses.

The result is an interesting twist in a tired debate over a recurring struggle in Kootenai County: placement of gravel pits.

Some people familiar with the dispute say Haman wants his property rezoned simply to keep the city from condemning it, thus easing its acquisition to expand the Rathdrum sewage treatment facility.

In November he was among the most vocal critics of a proposal by Acme Materials and Construction of Spokane to dig near his farm. That company now operates a rock crusher on 200 acres next door.

“Property values, people’s health, the city of Rathdrum will suffer,” Haman said then. “It’s going to cause a lot of misery.”

Haman, who declined comment on Monday, recently applied to the county to do much the same thing.

Beginning in 1996, Haman would mine rock as economic demand warrants, according to an unsigned agreement with the county. Then the area would be cleaned up and revegetated.

No decision has been made, and county planning commissioner Jon Mueller said only that the plan had some merit.

“It tends to concentrate similar uses in one area rather than having a pit here, a pit there,” he said.

But Rathdrum, taking up an argument Haman once made himself, disagreed.

“It is the city’s contention that an error was made” in allowing Acme to mine next to Haman’s land, wrote Rathdrum Mayor Tawnda Bromley in a letter to commissioners. That area should someday be home to Rathdrum’s commercial and residential growth, she said.

But the city, too, has other, seemingly incompatible, plans: sewage treatment.

Haman’s rural land is surrounded now by farms, except for the Acme pit on one side. Across the road, Rathdrum recently bought 314 acres to be used for a sewage plant, spray irrigation of waste or some other form of sewage treatment, said Rathdrum Public Works Director Bob Lloyd.

“If you asked most people would you rather have mining or sewage land application next door, I think most people would rather have the mining,” Mueller said.

Haman suggested to planning commissioners that Rathdrum officials opposed his plans because they want to condemn his land and buy it cheap. Some have speculated that Haman wants his land rezoned merely to avoid such condemnation and purchase by the city.

The assessed value of Haman’s land is about $225,000. Wendy Janke, owner of Advanced Appraisals in Coeur d’Alene, said approval of Haman’s request would “send the value soaring.”

City officials did seek to buy from Haman about a year ago, said Rathdrum City Attorney Rollie Watson, but Haman’s price was too high. Even now, the city needs more land.

“The 314 acres isn’t all we’re going to need,” Watson said.

Watson acknowledged the city may still negotiate with Haman, but insisted it would not condemn his land. He also said Rathdrum’s opposition to Haman’s plans were not driven by the city’s own plans.

Regardless, planning commissioners will consider the project Aug. 7.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo; Map of proposed gravel pit area