TV Butte quarry proposal: County Planning Commission directs new hearing | Applicant failed notice requirement

By GEORGE CUSTER/Editor/The Herald  —  I got there early. I had a feeling that there would be quite a crowd from Oakridge attending the meeting. I was right. No less than thirty Oakridgians (and a few supporters not from Oakridge) attended the hearing that was to determine whether a second application for the Old Hazeldell Quarry would be approved. Several who signed up to speak against the re-zoning of the site called TV Butte also attended via Zoom.

Though emotions were running high, the assembled crowd kept them in check while each awaited their turn to address the Lane County Planning Commission. The subject application was the only item for the night’s agenda. The passionate outpourings would have to wait for some time into the meetings.

The application is being submitted for a second time. It is asking to change the zoning for a parcel of forested land just east of the city limits of Oakridge to accommodate a rock mining and crushing operation. A previous application was denied by the Lane County Board of Commissioners by a vote of 3-2 in 2021.

The two-hour meeting was held at the Lane County Public Works complex on Noth Delta Highway at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening. After an initial schooling on the rules and process of the meeting by Planning Commission Chairman Jeffery Choate, the staff report was presented. The job of the county planners is to ensure that all applications for land use are in compliance with the myriad of restrictions imposed by laws and regulations.

Once the public hearing portion of the meeting began, it was time to hear from the applicant and to listen to persons who had signed up to speak. The applicant’s representative, Bill Kloos of the Law Offices of Bill Kloos PC, pleaded the case for the application first. Later, things would come a bit unhinged.

The staff report

A procedural error had been identified as part of the staff report given by County planner Taylor Carsley. Stonebroke LLC, the corporate entity filing the application, failed to meet the required minimum time to have the notice of their application hearing posted per the county. The main focus of the staff report was to determine if the applicant had answered all of the Lane County’s Statewide Planning Goal 5 Compliance requirements. Several other unanswered or incomplete issues highlighted the lengthy and detailed report.

Carsley emphasized that not all of the conflicts addressed had been addressed to the planning department’s satisfaction. The staff report specifies three conditions: no conflict, potential conflict, or a conflict exists. Carsley also said that a lot of information and comments had been received in the last half day prior to the meeting. Therefore, some of which was not able to be properly addressed by the planning staff.

Kloos spoke to the assembled group for about 15 minutes. He started off with a quip saying that this process had “started back when he was in grade school”, referring to the application being heard. “Everything is same” Kloos quoted. He asserted that “nothing has changed” and that “everything is stable”. He mentioned that he was surprised by several of the comments brought out in staff report. Kloos took a minute to tell the planning commissioners and planners how tough their job is.

Unanswered Goal 5 issues persist

A transportation issue, as it refers to Goal 5, was not in the hands of the commissioners by meeting time. Mr. Kloos inferred that the current transportation engineer was a “new kid”. Kloos went on to say that the “big game issue needs a little more work” and “…need to look at the ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) concerns”. The current application consists of 75 pages.

The planning Commission members are all volunteers who give their time and expertise to Lane County.

Next it was time for the commission to hear from those opposed to the quarry. There maybe should have been a potty break about that time, seeing the lineup for speakers. They forged forward, regardless.

Volley after volley of concerns

Twenty-three persons had their say against the catastrophe they felt sure would develop should the nine-person commission approve the rezoning application. Sabrina Ratkowski, one of the more outspoken members and organizer of the Save TV Butte effort spoke first. Her litany of objections was numerous and were spot on. This can be said because so many of the following residents from Oakridge and the surrounding area repeatedly reenforced each and every one of them as their turn to speak came up.

And speak they did. They got right to the point. Air quality concerns were emphasized. The constant blasting that will echo throughout the entire area would certainly drive our precious elk herd from town and disrupt their breeding ground. The day-to-day crushing operation noise would certainly echo from the site on TV Butte, which sits overlooking the city.

Business owners reaffirmed the notion that people who now can sit outside and enjoy their meal or a drink would be driven away by the noise echoing throughout our city and the surrounding area. The local Chamber of Commerce representative vouched that businesses and tourism would be greatly affected.

City could be liable for actions of the quarry operation

The Oakridge City Administrator, James Cleavenger, reiterated the city’s stance that an abandoned dump site located near the proposed quarry could leach contaminants into the city’s water system due to the blasting. The city would be financially liable for any contamination to our water supply.

Those opposing the permit jumped at the opportunity to remind Mr. Kloos that things have changed; they’re not the same as he so off-handedly stated. More issues have surfaced that need to be adequately addressed.

Once the citizens exhausted their rebuff of the applicant’s argument, Kloos was allowed to reply to the opposition’s accusations. Having felt that he had been misunderstood, he immediately recanted his statement that “things were the same”. He then emphasized that the general nature of the project remained the same.

Decision to close the record or keep it open

After Kloos’ closing statement, the chair was about to close the public hearing portion for deliberations. A discussion ensued as to whether to keep the record open so that the applicant could have additional time. A new timeline would be negotiated.

Commissioner Bruce Hadley, speaking via Zoom, said that “this situation has been going on for eight years” and that it had been voted down before. Same package – same process. the Land Use Board of Appeals had also turned their appeal down as well.

At that point, Hadley made a motion to close the hearing and vote to deny the permit. His motion was seconded by Commissioner Hanks.

A round of applause emanated from the gathered opposition members.

Chairman Choate referred the motion to legal counsel that was in attendance at the meeting. Rebekah Dohrman, attorney for the County advised that because a negotiated new timeline was on the table, the motion should be reconsidered. A new motion was made to keep the record open. The vote passed by majority. A new tentative date was set for June 4.

Oakridge – what is this place?

Oakridge is a quiet, up-and-coming recreational mecca that is nestled in an elevated valley surrounded by the Willamette National Forest. So much so, that the forest comes right down to meet the city limits on all sides. People come here for that. Let’s emphasize the quiet while we’re at it.

Our valley aspect allows residents and visitors alike to be rewarded each time they walk out their door and see beautiful mountains covered in lush, green trees in all directions. The valley also traps air masses, a concern in the winter months when chimney smoke has to be closely regulated. When forest fires burn in Oregon, smoke tends to settle in our little valley. Noise, as one can imagine, reverberates in a valley as well. Residents like the quiet. They love their clean, mountain air. They love living close to nature.

Small towns such as Oakridge are devoid of traffic jams and the constant fender benders that accompany that issue. The profuse animal population likes it as well. The large elk population that resides just outside of town are comfortable with Oakridge because of its quiet, slow pace.  Having the opportunity to watch deer, bear, mountain lion, and numerous other species of wildlife, make up another aspect of living here.

If you are interested in volunteering to support opposition to the proposed quarry, go to www.oakridgestrong.org. Or you can find Save TV Butte on Facebook.

Speakers in opposition to the applicant’s permit: