University Place proposing rezone to stop gravel mining near suburban community gateway

The City of University Place is proposing a rezone to stop a property owner from mining gravel in an unexpected place: near the suburban community’s southern gateway, in an area developed with newer homes and the Fred Meyer shopping center.

The site encompasses remnants of an 80-acre surface mine that Holroyd Co. operated for a half-century. It’s part of the heritage of mining in the UP area that includes Chambers Creek Properties, the longtime sand-and-gravel pit that was turned into a world-famous Scottish links golf course.

Over the years, as University Place became a city and grew, the geologic source beneath the old Holroyd mine has been hidden in plain sight near the intersection of Bridgeport Way and 67th Avenue West.

Now the property has placed the owner, the neighbors and the city between a rock and a hard place. None of them wants a gravel mine, but neighbors don’t like what the landowner and the city have proposed instead: a gas station or other commercial use.

In fact, some neighbors have said they would prefer the short-term impacts of a mine over the permanent headaches if the owner is allowed to build a commercial enterprise.

“The noise will never stop,” said neighbor Morry Stafford. “The glare will never stop.”

Concerns like these were raised at a city planning commission meeting this month. A public hearing is scheduled for this week.

The right to excavate the land has long been a bone of contention between the city and the property owner, University Place developer Brian McGuire.

McGuire bought some of the property after the mine closed in 1991. He developed and sold portions for two housing developments and the Fred Meyer.

McGuire applied for a city permit to grade another 1.4-acre parcel to provide fill for construction of the shopping center. The parcel is located on the northwest corner of the intersection and was cut off from the larger property when Bridgeport and another road were realigned in the 1970s.

UP prohibits new mining activity and denied the permit, prompting McGuire to take the city to court. In 2001, the state Supreme Court ruled that he retained the mining rights because they had been established before the city’s zoning regulations were written, according to the court’s unanimous decision.

In 2002, McGuire partially mined the parcel and a nearby vacant 4.4-acre property he owned behind Fred Meyer, said David Swindale, the city’s development services director.

Three years ago, after unsuccessful efforts to bring a bank and a senior housing project to the properties, McGuire applied for permits to extract more than 221,000 cubic yards of aggregate because that was his only good alternative, according to his lawyer, Willliam Lynn, and documents filed with the city.

McGuire threatened legal action against the city due to its delay in issuing the permits, City Attorney Steve Victor wrote in a report to the city planning commission.

“Absent any other change, they’re going to mine those properties,” Victor said in an interview last week.

Victor, who arrived to the job last year, recognized that mining in that area would upset neighbors and damage the city’s image. He asked Lynn, whom he knows well, if there were another option “to see if there’s something better to do at the gateway of the city than mine.”

According to Victor’s report, Lynn made a proposal: rezone both properties as neighborhood commercial, a more valuable use, and McGuire would forgo the parcels’ mining rights forever.

Lynn asked the city to propose the rezone so McGuire has an early indication if there’s more interest this time around.

The planning commission will hold a public hearing on the request at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A decision by the full City Council isn’t expected until next year.

The request is one of several that will be packaged together as the city makes changes to its comprehensive plan for managing growth, Swindale said.

The current low-density residential zoning on McGuire’s properties allows homes, assisted-living and day care centers, schools and churches.

Neighborhood commercial would allow banks, convenience stores, gas stations and offices.

There’s no specific commercial use set for either property. Lynn said McGuire is working to bring proposals to the table. He said Fred Meyer has expressed interest in building a gas station.

Today’s residential zoning doesn’t work for either property, he said. There’s too much traffic and not enough room to place a buffer between homes and busy roads.

But mining is not the first choice for McGuire, who was unavailable for comment last week.

“I think he’s hopeful that he ends up with something that is better for everybody,” Lynn said. “He’s been through this a few times before, so I don’t think he’s counting any chickens.”

Neighbors living on Chambers Creek Road West, across the street from McGuire’s smaller parcel, said the situation leaves them with two bad options: a gravel mine or a commercial development. They said the current residential zoning should give McGuire enough flexibility to see his investment pay off.

One of the affected neighbors is University Place Mayor Debbie Klosowski. She declined to comment for this story because the issue is coming before council, although she leaves office at the end of the year and won’t have a vote in the ultimate outcome.

Some neighbors are most concerned about locating a gas station there because it might pollute Kobayashi Park, located behind the line of homes.

“The reason we bought our house is that it’s right next to a nature preserve,” said homeowner Diogenes Xenos. “To do something like that right across the street seems counterproductive.”

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