Rezone To Mining Denied

Thu., March 23, 2000

By Adam Lynn adaml@spokesman.com

More than 1.5 million tons of a rare high-quality sand will remain buried on the Peone Prairie, at least for now.

Spokane County commissioners voted Tuesday to deny a request from a local company that would allow it to mine the sand.

Pinewood Properties of Spokane had applied for a zoning change for 60 acres of vacant land north of Farwell Road, between Market and Fairview.

The property is currently zoned of low-density residential uses. Pinewood asked that it be rezoned to a mining area.

The company wants to extract large quantities of “Mead sand” deposited on the site. The sand is an extremely fine grade used in concrete and asphalt.

Last summer, the county’s hearing examiner denied the request. Hearing Examiner Mike Dempsey said the proposed rezone was inconsistent with surrounding land uses and would increase traffic on already substandard roads in the area.

Neighbors said they were afraid dump trucks traveling to and from the site would pose a traffic hazard and disrupt their otherwise peaceful quality of life.

Pinewood appealed Dempsey’s decision to county commissioners, setting up Tuesday’s vote. Commissioners Kate McCaslin and John Roskelley voted to deny Pinewood’s request. Commissioner Phil Harris was absent from the meeting.

Jim Frank, a local attorney who represents Pinewood, said Tuesday he’s not sure what the company plans to do now.

The site, which has a railroad line on one end and another mining operation on the other, isn’t suited for residential development, Frank said.

Pinewood could hold onto the property for a few years and reapply, appeal the commissioners’ decision to the state’s Growth Management hearings board or take its case to court.

“I’m sure it will be some time before that decision is made,” Frank said.

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