We live near 2 rock quarries. One quarry, applied for and obtained required county permits. Conditional Use Permits. They have regulated days and hours of operations. They provide notices of blasting, before the event. The other quarry operates without any Lincoln County permits. Their position is they have “no rules”. New operators, who are aware they do not have a permit, say they are lawful, and verbally stated “we will work when we want”. Many previous attempts to resolve this issue through conversations with the quarry owner have failed. Our neighborhood would like to see regulated days and hours of operations, and the other regulatory benefits of a lawfully permitted quarry operation.
On Feb. 29, 2016 I filed a complaint with the Lincoln County Planning Department. [LCPD]
Quarry operates outside of State and County, Days and Hours guidelines. Operator wrongly believes his “Grandfather Clause” operating permits, allow 24/7 operations that include expansion areas obtained after permits were issued. Only the original 18 acres are included in the grandfathered exemption. Additional USFS leased land and other lands, are NOT exempt from State and County regulated days, hours and safety guidelines. Operations occur in the dark with heavy equipment operating only with head lights, on steep slopes. Sunday operations occur off the original exempt 18 acres. Recent violation dates Sunday Jan.24 and following week working in the dark.
Many years ago on an Easter Sunday I contacted the owners of Eckman Creek Quarry to remind them it was Easter Sunday and suggested maybe they could stop drilling and crushing for the day. I was told they have “no rules”. This would be their standard response over the next few years.
Their “no rules” attitude derived from the fact that this quarry began in 1948 and was ‘grandfathered’ in regarding local land use laws and regulations. However, in 1989 the quarry expanded with the expansion to adjacent Tax lot 801 which contains 21.9 acres. This expansion necessitated a conditional use permit, per LCC 1.1605 Section 3. This expansion voided the grandfather protections. This permit was never applied for.
29.2.1 Comprehensive Plans – Amendment – Generally. In land use regulation, grandfather clauses shield land use rights that were gained under old land use laws from the application of new land use laws so that the new land use laws are only applied prospectively. Central Oregon Landwatch v. Deschutes County, 63 Or LUBA 123 (2011).
The quarry then applied for and received a 1989 revised DOGAMI Operating and Reclamation permit. This permit includes the expanded land and operating permit boundaries, plus updated reclamation plans requiring substantial modification including dewatering. These DOGAMI issued permits require local land use permissions, and clearly state that on the permit.
DOGAMI Deputy Director Ian Madin wrote Sept. 2017
“When the permit area was expanded in 1989, the expansion plan was circulated to other agencies for review and comment. We have no record that the County responded. Had the County objected to the expansion on the basis of land use, the permit for expansion would not have been issued. Since 1977, the County has been routinely copied with annually-issued permits and site inspection reports, and we have no record of any concerns on their part about land use authorization.
When we filed the complaint in 2016, LCPD did not have, nor maintained a file on Eckman Creek Quarry. Since 1989 this quarry has been the subject of a variety complaints from neighbors, the City of Waldport, DOGAMI, and DEQ.
Over the next 2 years I tried to convince Director Husing that LCPD had the authority and mandate to regulate the quarry. His refusal to enforce our land use laws were based on “ conversations with former employees and colleagues” and an alleged previous “finding that the quarry in question was, in effect, shielded by Oregon statute from a conditional use permit process because the quarry was grandfathered-in”. This “finding’ is not available for review in the quarry file.
All through 2016 we E mailed and nothing changed.
I began attending Planning Commission meetings in 2017
Minutes JUNE 12, 2017 “Commissioner Buggenhagen motioned to direct Staff to investigate the matter. Chair Johnson seconded the motion. The planning commission voted unanimously to direct staff to investigate the matter.”
Aug.14, 2017 PC meeting minutes. “Mr. Rubin requested to be put on the agenda for the next meeting.” “ Chair Johnson directed Staff to establish the facts and place the matter on the next agenda.”
“ A brief conversation ensued between Director Husing, The Planning Commission, and Mr. Rubin regarding an agenda item to the next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Monday, August 28.”
August 29 PC meeting minutes do not show matter was discussed.
SEPT. 25, 2017 Minutes Not posted..taken from packet for Feb. 26, 2018 meeting
“Chair Johnson agreed to put Mr. Rubin on the next agenda pending a report by Director Husing on the status of Mr. Rubin’s research request” page 4
Dir. Husing issued his final official written “ finding” on Nov. 30 2017. He then thwarted my attempts and prevented the Planning Commissioners from holding a hearing. He claimed “the finding our Department issued was based on an exhaustive review of information related to the operation of Eckman Creek Quarry and its regulatory history” ***THE INFAMOUS CUT & PASTE****
Thankfully, I was directed to speak to our County Commissioners at a public meeting May 2. They were very gracious and I finally received some positive action.
Following that meeting in May of 2018, LCPD Director Husing reversed his decision when he wrote to the County Commissioners and the Planning commissioners: Watch Commissioners meeting video on this site.
“The act of the expansion of the quarry — during 1989 — when it encompassed this second parcel, in effect, gave Lincoln Count the authority to regulate Eckman Creek Quarry. That authority, to regulate that quarry under a CU, has existed since 1989.”
Since that acceptance of authority in May 2019, LCPD Dir. Husing has written me…
May 2018
“We cannot, yet, impose land use restrictions on the quarry (things like hours of operation, blasting notices, etc) until the CU process is complete. I expect the staff work on the conditional use process to proceed, in earnest, next week. I will write the staff report. We will be working with our Planning Commission to set a date for an upcoming hearing on the CU. Of course we will keep you informed throughout the process. As such, since you asked me to speculate how long this will take, we may be at least two months or so out from when the CU process is complete (there are notice periods and potential appeal periods that need to be observed). If the CU is appealed my estimates about the length of the process won’t apply.” Thanks! Onno
June 2018
“Dave can, though, please understand, blast and do it legally.
Yes, Eckman Creek Quarry is operating.
As I noted in previous correspondence, Lincoln County won’t seek to shut them down because we are still working through the regulatory issues. I promised Dave, after I communicated to Dave that it looks like we need to run him through a CU, that I would visit the site, to understand — from his perspective — what’s happening on the ground.
And YES we are paying close attention to the 1989 expansion (the regulatory expansion) which may indeed enable us (indeed obligate us) to regulate the quarry. The bottom line is this time around I am going to MAKE SURE WE GOT IT RIGHT. And if it is clear Lincoln County is under obligation to regulate that quarry then we will put them through a CU process. That’s not a big deal. If that happens the conditions to run the quarry will, I anticipate, match the conditions we have for other quarries in Lincoln County subject to CUs.”
Recent requests to LCPD regarding the status of the permits for Eckman Creek Quarry were not answered. The quarry continues to operate beginning at 6 AM. We have contacted the L.C. Sheriff’s Dept. to assist us in enforcing our county land use laws.
Operations at a quarry can include: Logging, drilling, blasting, crushing, trucking,
The process of the quarry is: Log trees, and remove all topsoil. Drill into rock. Set dynamite charges to dislodge rock, move the rock to crusher, crush the rocks, move to piles, load into trucks. Repeat until no mountain.
DOGAMI is Oregon Department of Minerals and Geology.
OUR STORY
We live near 2 rock quarries. One quarry, applied for and obtained required county permits. Conditional Use Permits. They have regulated days and hours of operations. They provide notices of blasting, before the event. The other quarry operates without any Lincoln County permits. Their position is they have “no rules”. New operators, who are aware they do not have a permit, say they are lawful, and verbally stated “we will work when we want”. Many previous attempts to resolve this issue through conversations with the quarry owner have failed. Our neighborhood would like to see regulated days and hours of operations, and the other regulatory benefits of a lawfully permitted quarry operation.
On Feb. 29, 2016 I filed a complaint with the Lincoln County Planning Department. [LCPD]
Quarry operates outside of State and County, Days and Hours guidelines. Operator wrongly believes his “Grandfather Clause” operating permits, allow 24/7 operations that include expansion areas obtained after permits were issued. Only the original 18 acres are included in the grandfathered exemption. Additional USFS leased land and other lands, are NOT exempt from State and County regulated days, hours and safety guidelines. Operations occur in the dark with heavy equipment operating only with head lights, on steep slopes. Sunday operations occur off the original exempt 18 acres. Recent violation dates Sunday Jan.24 and following week working in the dark.
Many years ago on an Easter Sunday I contacted the owners of Eckman Creek Quarry to remind them it was Easter Sunday and suggested maybe they could stop drilling and crushing for the day. I was told they have “no rules”. This would be their standard response over the next few years.
Their “no rules” attitude derived from the fact that this quarry began in 1948 and was ‘grandfathered’ in regarding local land use laws and regulations. However, in 1989 the quarry expanded with the expansion to adjacent Tax lot 801 which contains 21.9 acres. This expansion necessitated a conditional use permit, per LCC 1.1605 Section 3. This expansion voided the grandfather protections. This permit was never applied for.
29.2.1 Comprehensive Plans – Amendment – Generally. In land use regulation, grandfather clauses shield land use rights that were gained under old land use laws from the application of new land use laws so that the new land use laws are only applied prospectively. Central Oregon Landwatch v. Deschutes County, 63 Or LUBA 123 (2011).
The quarry then applied for and received a 1989 revised DOGAMI Operating and Reclamation permit. This permit includes the expanded land and operating permit boundaries, plus updated reclamation plans requiring substantial modification including dewatering. These DOGAMI issued permits require local land use permissions, and clearly state that on the permit.
DOGAMI Deputy Director Ian Madin wrote Sept. 2017
“When the permit area was expanded in 1989, the expansion plan was circulated to other agencies for review and comment. We have no record that the County responded. Had the County objected to the expansion on the basis of land use, the permit for expansion would not have been issued. Since 1977, the County has been routinely copied with annually-issued permits and site inspection reports, and we have no record of any concerns on their part about land use authorization.
When we filed the complaint in 2016, LCPD did not have, nor maintained a file on Eckman Creek Quarry. Since 1989 this quarry has been the subject of a variety complaints from neighbors, the City of Waldport, DOGAMI, and DEQ.
Over the next 2 years I tried to convince Director Husing that LCPD had the authority and mandate to regulate the quarry. His refusal to enforce our land use laws were based on “ conversations with former employees and colleagues” and an alleged previous “finding that the quarry in question was, in effect, shielded by Oregon statute from a conditional use permit process because the quarry was grandfathered-in”. This “finding’ is not available for review in the quarry file.
All through 2016 we E mailed and nothing changed.
I began attending Planning Commission meetings in 2017
Minutes JUNE 12, 2017 “Commissioner Buggenhagen motioned to direct Staff to investigate the matter. Chair Johnson seconded the motion. The planning commission voted unanimously to direct staff to investigate the matter.”
Aug.14, 2017 PC meeting minutes. “Mr. Rubin requested to be put on the agenda for the next meeting.” “ Chair Johnson directed Staff to establish the facts and place the matter on the next agenda.”
“ A brief conversation ensued between Director Husing, The Planning Commission, and Mr. Rubin regarding an agenda item to the next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Monday, August 28.”
August 29 PC meeting minutes do not show matter was discussed.
SEPT. 25, 2017 Minutes Not posted..taken from packet for Feb. 26, 2018 meeting
“Chair Johnson agreed to put Mr. Rubin on the next agenda pending a report by Director Husing on the status of Mr. Rubin’s research request” page 4
Dir. Husing issued his final official written “ finding” on Nov. 30 2017. He then thwarted my attempts and prevented the Planning Commissioners from holding a hearing. He claimed “the finding our Department issued was based on an exhaustive review of information related to the operation of Eckman Creek Quarry and its regulatory history” ***THE INFAMOUS CUT & PASTE****
Thankfully, I was directed to speak to our County Commissioners at a public meeting May 2. They were very gracious and I finally received some positive action.
Following that meeting in May of 2018, LCPD Director Husing reversed his decision when he wrote to the County Commissioners and the Planning commissioners: Watch Commissioners meeting video on this site.
“The act of the expansion of the quarry — during 1989 — when it encompassed this second parcel, in effect, gave Lincoln Count the authority to regulate Eckman Creek Quarry. That authority, to regulate that quarry under a CU, has existed since 1989.”
Since that acceptance of authority in May 2019, LCPD Dir. Husing has written me…
May 2018
“We cannot, yet, impose land use restrictions on the quarry (things like hours of operation, blasting notices, etc) until the CU process is complete. I expect the staff work on the conditional use process to proceed, in earnest, next week. I will write the staff report. We will be working with our Planning Commission to set a date for an upcoming hearing on the CU. Of course we will keep you informed throughout the process. As such, since you asked me to speculate how long this will take, we may be at least two months or so out from when the CU process is complete (there are notice periods and potential appeal periods that need to be observed). If the CU is appealed my estimates about the length of the process won’t apply.” Thanks! Onno
June 2018
“Dave can, though, please understand, blast and do it legally.
Yes, Eckman Creek Quarry is operating.
As I noted in previous correspondence, Lincoln County won’t seek to shut them down because we are still working through the regulatory issues. I promised Dave, after I communicated to Dave that it looks like we need to run him through a CU, that I would visit the site, to understand — from his perspective — what’s happening on the ground.
And YES we are paying close attention to the 1989 expansion (the regulatory expansion) which may indeed enable us (indeed obligate us) to regulate the quarry. The bottom line is this time around I am going to MAKE SURE WE GOT IT RIGHT. And if it is clear Lincoln County is under obligation to regulate that quarry then we will put them through a CU process. That’s not a big deal. If that happens the conditions to run the quarry will, I anticipate, match the conditions we have for other quarries in Lincoln County subject to CUs.”
Recent requests to LCPD regarding the status of the permits for Eckman Creek Quarry were not answered. The quarry continues to operate beginning at 6 AM. We have contacted the L.C. Sheriff’s Dept. to assist us in enforcing our county land use laws.
Operations at a quarry can include: Logging, drilling, blasting, crushing, trucking,
The process of the quarry is: Log trees, and remove all topsoil. Drill into rock. Set dynamite charges to dislodge rock, move the rock to crusher, crush the rocks, move to piles, load into trucks. Repeat until no mountain.
DOGAMI is Oregon Department of Minerals and Geology.
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