Brush Prairie neighbors
appeal asphalt plant approval
The Clark County commissioners will get a chance to consider the proposed Lakeside Industries asphalt plant during a hearing set for Wed., June 6, 1:30 p.m., in the commissioner’s hearing room, Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver.
Clark County hearing’s examiner Joe Turner ruled March 27 against every argument raised by the Greater Brush Prairie Neighborhood Association. The Neighborhood Association, represented by Vancouver attorney John Karpinski, has appealed Turner’s decision. Karpinski filed a brief in the matter April 24.
In the appeal, Karpinski argues that law requires Lakeside to prove its compliance with all elements of county code by a “preponderance of the evidence,” not merely “substantial evidence.”
Karpinski said the commissioners used the “preponderance of evidence” criteria in a recent case involving a proposed Wal-Mart store in Salmon Creek, and should use that theory consistently. In the Wal-Mart case, approval was returned to a hearings’ examiner for further consideration.
“We fully expect this and other errors of law to be reversed by the county commissioners on appeal,” said Karpinski.
Al Wallace, attorney for Lakeside Industries, said that even if the matter is remanded to the hearings’ examiner on the basis of the evidence standard, the project will be affirmed by the county in the future. He did not discount the possibility that the commissioners would remand the proposal based on the “preponderance of the evidence” rules.
The Lakeside Industries proposal is to construct a hot mix asphalt batch plant, office, vehicle maintenance building, fuel island and train off-loading facilities in the Brush Prairie Rural Center between NE 151st St. and NE Caples Road, about 2,000 feet east of SR-503. The Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, owned by the county, bisects the site, and there is an existing agricultural building in the southwest corner.
Karpinski also argued that the plant, if approved, should be required to comply with county codes as they exist today, not as they existed when the application was filed in 2000.
Wallace said rules are mostly the same today as in 2000, with the same air quality and noise regulations still in effect.
County law requires an impact statement to be completed within a year, said Karpinski, unless a written agreement with the county extends that deadline. Lakeside took much longer than that, he said, without any such documented agreement.
Wallace said environmental impact statements generally require two years to complete, and the one year time limit can be extended with the approval of the planning director which does not need to be in writing.
While projects are considered “vested” at the time of application, said Karpinski, “at some point in time they should be kicked out of the system.” He argued that seven years is too long to consider a project to be vested, or grandfathered, under rules in affect at the time of application.
The Neighborhood Association, through Karpinski, has argued that the proposed plant would be too noisy. The loading and unloading of rock would be the primary source of noise, said Karpinski.
Wallace said the project will meet stringent state and county noise rules. He said Karpinski was at one time satisfied with the 10 decibel “gold standard” for noise, but now wants five decibels.
Wallace said an asphalt plant creates noise with onsite trucks, the operation of a burner which dries rock and heats oil, and a loader that loads rock into the plant. A new type of loader, used in Europe, is exceptionally quiet, he said.
Noise is measured at property lines. The Lakeside proposal would have 20-foot high berms along its perimeter.
In addition, county code requires that industrial operations that produce heat are to be enclosed in buildings, said Karpinski.
Wallace said the county code applies to “heat and glare,” not just heat, and therefore does not apply in this situation because the plant creates no glare.
The Lakeside application would allow the plant to operate around the clock 40 days a year, said Karpinski.
Many of the problems with the plant would be solved, said Karpinski, if the operation would be enclosed in a building.
Karpinski said the hearings’ examiner concluded that putting finished asphalt in trucks is not an operation of the plant. Karpinski said this is one disagreement over facts that should force the matter back to the hearings’ examiner.
Karpinski has also raised issues related to odor, water quality, air pollution, dust and aesthetics.
Wallace said the plant will meet all federal and state standards dealing with air quality, odor and noise. No variances from any standard have been sought, he said.
Karpinski also argued that Lakeside changed its plans for handling stormwater, but never did a new environmental analysis of the changed plans. Such an analysis would have included a public comment period, said Karpinski.
Wallace said Karpinski is confused between projects for which no environmental impact statement is required and ones like the asphalt plant where an impact statement has been done. In the former, a new environmental review process does take place when plans change. But when a project is subject to an environmental impact statement, the final impact statement is designed to accommodate comments from the draft and further study is not needed, said Wallace.
Karpinski also stated that the proposed system for handling stormwater was not feasible. Wallace said this is Karpinski’s opinion only, while Lakeside has produced expert testimony that the plan will work.
Clark County officials zoned the site for heavy industrial use in 1998. Lakeside submitted an application and site plan in August 2000 following a pre-application period in 1999. The county hired a noise consultant to review noise impacts. County officials approved proposed modifications to NE Caples Road.
A draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued in October 2003 and a final Impact Statement in January 2006. The county approved the site plan in March 2006. Karpinski appealed both the Impact Statement and the county’s decision approving the project.
Turner held five public hearings. He concluded that an asphalt plant is a permitted use in the heavy manufacturing zone. He also concluded that noise, smoke, heat and glare impacts are addressed in existing code or law.
Conditions of approval involve erosion, landscaping, fire marshal requirements, nighttime noise, and a prohibition on asphalt recycling.
Wallace described Lakeside Industries as a family-owned company that has been operated by the Lee family for 50 years. He said the family has a longterm perspective and “lifer” employees--employees who have been with the company for many years. He said the company is involved in the community, sponsoring sports teams and contributing to the food bank.
“If the neighbors don’t want an asphalt plant,” said Wallace, “they should take solace in the fact that it will be Lakeside, a family-run business.”
Wallace said Lakeside’s primary motivation on this location is the presence of the railroad. Aggregate will be shipped in via rail which, said Wallace, is highly energy efficient. Without the railroad, said Wallace, this site would not be considered.
In addition, a company in the asphalt business needs plants that are geographically dispersed. Asphalt, he said, must be placed within one hour of the loading of a truck.

Woman revives dog with mouth-to-nose resuscitation
“I don’t know if I want people knowing what I did to a dog,” said Cindy Stienbarger, a resident of the La Center-Woodland area. “I ran to the bathroom afterwards.”
What Stienbarger did was give her aging dog Petie mouth-to-nose resuscitation April 20, breathing new life into the animal.
Stienbarger said Petie was a stray and showed up at her home about eight years ago. He’s now 15-16 years of age, she said.
Petie has developed various medical problems in recent years, including epileptic seizures during which he stiffens and falls over. “Petie is getting older,” said Stienbarger, noting that the Spaniel-like, blonde, long-haired dog is now mostly blind and nearly deaf. He weighs 12-15 pounds.
On April 20 while Doug and Cindy Stienbarger walked to the upstairs level of their home, Petie collapsed. Doug called to Cindy. Petie’s eyes were fixed forward, his tongue was hanging out, and he was limp and not breathing.
“I shook him and called his name,” said Stienbarger. “I thought I might revive him. I put him on the rug and did chest compressions. I wasn’t sure if his heart had stopped, but he was definitely not breathing and he was limp.”
Stienbarger said she thought about putting her fingers in Petie’s mouth to open an airway, but was afraid the dog might awaken and bite her finger.
Stienbarger said she then wrapped her fingers around Petie’s mouth, covered his nose with her mouth, and blew. She repeated the procedure 4-5 times.
Soon Petie made a choking sound and started breathing again. “I have no idea if he would have recovered otherwise,” said Stienbarger. “The alternative was to watch him die. That’s worse.”
Petie did recover, although he was tired that evening. “He’s just as perky as normal,” said Stienbarger a few days later. Petie normally sleeps on the Stienbarger bed.
Stienbarger has not taken Petie to a vet following this latest medical incident. “People will think I’m a real cruel owner, not going to a vet for further treatment,” said Stienbarger.
Stienbarger had first aid/CPR training 2-3 years ago, she said, and learned about CPR through phone training about 16 years ago.

County to look at future of some area parks
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
The Chelatchie Prairie Railroad trail would extend from Battle Ground to Battle Ground State Park, and a greenway along the East Fork of the Lewis River would be completed under a new Vancouver-Clark County parks plan.
The county’s planning commission has approved an extensive parks planning document, and the commissioners have scheduled a public hearing Tues., May 15, 10 a.m.
Michelle Kunec of Parks and Recreation said the planning document does not lay out funding or specific development, although it looks at a six-year capital facilities program based on $6-$7 million over the six years. The funds come from the conservation futures fund supported by a 6.25-cents per $1,000 of real property countywide.
High on the list of priorities for the next six years are an extension of the greenway along the East Fork of the Lewis River from Paradise Point to Moulton Falls. Much of the greenway is complete, Kunec said, and the county hopes to acquire land near Daybreak Park to complete the connectivity. The cost has been estimated at more than $2 million.
The continuation of trails along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad is projected in the six-year plan. According to the plan, about 300 acres must be acquired for a portion of the corridor and regional park, and the purchase price has been estimated at nearly $13 million. The cost of extending the Chelatchie Prairie Trail from Battle Ground to Battle Ground State Park has been estimated at $550,000.
Lisa Goorjian, trails program manager, said the costs are only estimates, and planning for the corridor along the railroad has recently begun.
“We just started gathering information,” she said. “The project for the corridor trail plan is a yearlong process.”
Public meetings on the Chelatchie Trail will be scheduled later in the summer, Goorjian said.
The cost to purchase land for a regional park to serve the Ridgefield-Battle Ground communities has been projected at $8 million. Both acquisitions are listed in the six-year capital facilities projection.
The plan also recommends future sports fields and a regional park for Brush Prairie, but no funding is projected for those plans.
Maintenance and improvement at Lewisville, Moulton Falls and Lucia Falls parks are scheduled for the six-year period. Under the plan, asphalt parking lots would be replaced at Lewisville, as would the play equipment and bath house. The maintenance shop would be remodeled.
The main bridge at Moulton Falls would be repaired and re-stained, and interpretative signs would be built at Lucia Falls.
Although regional parks are listed in the long-range plan, Kunec said the parks department is “pretty limited in our ability to get regional parks.”
One proposed regional park at Brush Prairie may be considered for development fairly soon although it is not included in the six-year plan.
“We’ve been interested in that land for a while,” Kunec said. “The Battle Ground Schools are also interested.”
Kunec said the property being considered is in public ownership, but she said she does not know whether the state Department of Natural Resources or another agency is the owner.
The parks and recreation department owns 103 parks countywide, and is proposing to add between 1,500 and 2,000 acres over the next 20 years, “as funding allows,” Kunec said.

Wal-Mart sues city Wal-Mart asks examiner to reverse ruling
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Wal-Mart has filed a lawsuit against the City of Woodland and Woodlanders Against the Wal and, in a separate action, asked that the hearing’s examiner’s decision be overturned.
Hearings examiner Irv Berteig ruled in March that the store may not be built until a state transportation study is complete. During the past year, the city and the state Department of Transportation have agreed to write a transportation plan for the city and the Port of Woodland. Creating the plan is expected to take as long as 18 months.
Berteig also ruled that the corporation must take steps to prevent flooding under the Dike Access Road bridge.
Berteig’s ruling says that the Wal-Mart store is allowed outright under the zoning, and he said a State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) report would not be required.
In its lawsuit, Wal-Mart said that it supports the ruling on zoning and the SEPA report, but it challenges Berteig’s right to delay store development until the transportation report is complete. Wal-Mart challenges the hearings examiner’s decision to require the company to prevent flooding by installing culverts.
Woodland City Attorney Paul Brachvogel said that the city would remain neutral in the lawsuit. He said Woodland will have no financial liability if the court rules in favor of the Arkansas corporation. He said Wal-Mart only wants to have the hearings examiner’s decision overturned.
“I’ve talked to Wal-Mart attorneys and they say that Wal-Mart will not seek damages or attorney fees,” Brachvogel said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jennifer Holder agreed, saying the company “usually” does not seek damages or fees in actions of this type.
Holder called the lawsuit an “appeal.” She said the company has also formally asked Berteig to reconsider his decision.
“The conditions set by the hearings examiner are ambiguous,” Holder said. “We are asking him to clarify his decision.”
John Karpinski, attorney for the organization Woodlanders Against the Wal, argues that the hearings examiner has no legal authority to reconsider a decision he has made. Karpinski wrote, “An appeal to the City Council or Superior Court (are) the only legal options.”
During the public hearing, residents testified that during heavy rains, roads near the Wal-Mart site are subject to flooding, and they asked that the store take steps to control the flooding. Holder said that the hearings officer did not list the steps needed to control flooding.
Wal-Mart gained city approval in May 2006 to build a superstore on Dike Access and Robinson roads. The store will have 157,263 square feet of indoor retail space and another 6,385 square feet of covered outdoor retail space. A paved parking lot and driveways will cover 423,662 square feet, and pedestrian areas cover 23,673 square feet. According to plans submitted by PacLand for Wal-Mart, there will be 615,674 square-feet of impervious or paved area on 18.5 acres.
A number of Woodland residents, including some with downtown shops, expressed opposition to the super store from the beginning, saying that the store would destroy smaller retail operations and change the character of the city.
A plan to create a roundabout or traffic circle east of I-5 on Dike Access Road also drew opposition from the Port and firms located within the city’s industrial area. Woodland Truck Line opposed the traffic circle, saying that the long semi-tractor trailers that deliver goods to the industrial area would not be able to negotiate the circle easily. The industries and the Port have not taken a stand against the store, however.
Darlene Johnson of Woodland Truck Line has suggested alternatives to traffic management such as widening of Dike Access Road or the construction of an overpass at congested intersections.
State transportation officials, however, disagreed with the Port’s traffic assessment, and Brian Walsh, an engineer with the state Department of Transportation, testified in February that traffic circles have proven to be safe and more are being installed across the U.S. He said a “single lane circle would be sufficient” at the Woodland I-5 exit.
City Attorney Brachvogel said that pleadings were expected to be heard late last week.

Green hired to head Woodland schools
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
The superintendent of a growing school district near Spokane will take over as superintendent of the Wooland School District.
Michael Green, superintendent of the Nine Mile Falls School District, has signed a contract with the Woodland School Board.
Although the superintendent’s salary is subject to negotiation, the current district salary is about $115,000 including benefits, a salary that is comparable to the superintendents’ salaries in Ridgefield and La Center, Bays said.
“The board felt Green was the best suited to lead the district at this point in time,” Bays said. “All four candidates were outstanding. I’ve helped to hire several superintendents, and this was the most difficult decision I’ve been involved in.”
Green, who has been Nine Mile Falls superintendent for six years, heads a district that lies on both sides of Lake Spokane or Long Lake. The district, with nearly 1,700 students, is within an unincorporated bedroom community northwest of Spokane.
Green said he applied for the Woodland position because “Southwest Washington is a very attractive place. In looking at school districts, we found Woodland a healthy place, growing.”
“It’s a community that is engaged around teaching and kids,” he said.
The Woodland district is not without challenges, he said.
“The biggest challenge is dealing with the ongoing growth,” Green said. “School funding is always an issue, with the state and federal government handing down unfunded mandates.”
Under Green, the Nine Mile Falls district is asking voters to approve a $12.3 million bond in May to remodel its two elementary schools. One of Green’s first challenges in Woodland will be to begin work on developing a bond issue to build a new high school. Bays said the bond election probably will take place next spring.
Green’s wife Mary Ann and two children, Elijah, a rising third-grader, and Madeline, a rising fifth-grader, are “excited” about the move, he said.
“My family is my real center,” Green said. “I do a lot with them, a lot of outdoor activities, going to the beach.”
Green, who grew up in the Puget Sound area, said he has worked in school administration for 15 years. He has taught and been a principal in Edmonds, Wahluke, Sultan, Lake and Peninsula and Riverview school districts. He was assistant superintendent and acting superintendent of Riverview in Carnation.
The Woodland School District received 29 applications for the superintendent’s job, Bays said.
“That was an outstanding number compared to what other districts are seeing,” he said. “It speaks well to our district. (The new superintendent) won’t have to fix a lot of things. We have challenges, the bond being the biggest one, and WASL, the testing issue, that’s huge.”
The four finalists visited Woodland recently and met with community people, school district staff and faculty and the board.
“This is such an exciting thing to do,” Bays said, “but one of the most complex.”
Green said he and his family plan to live in Woodland and hope to find a house by early July.