A truck prepares to leave the Zimmerly gravel pit near Washougal in 2018. The Clark County Council voted against a request by Zimmerly to convert the private road into a public road. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files)
Residents living along Southeast 356th Avenue in Washougal arrived at the Clark County Council’s July 16 meeting to drive one point home: The county should not approve a mining operation’s request to convert their private road into a public road.
The county council unanimously voted against the request from ZP#5 LLC, a company controlled by Judith Zimmerly. The council’s decision leaves the road — which begins at Southeast Evergreen Highway and runs north about 2,220 feet before ending at the Washougal Pit — private.
Ken Lader, director of the county’s public works department, said his office received numerous comments opposing the change, especially within the past week. According to public records, the county received hundreds of comments from residents and groups, including Vancouver Audubon, Friends of the Columbia Gorge and Friends of the East Fork.
The road, which is the only entry to the Washougal Pit, provides access to eight homes. It lies just inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area about a mile northeast of Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Had the county approved the request, it would have needed approval from four additional property owners or had to use eminent domain to acquire the properties, Lader said.
The staff report recommended rejecting Zimmerly’s request. According to the report, the county engineer found “it is premature to accept the dedication of this private road for establishment of a public road and that the appropriate time for this process is post reclamation of the Washougal Pit as a potential part of the development application process.”
Lader said Zimmerly’s request to change the road designation was made in 2021 but was later put on hold.
“Throughout 2023, until August of that year, the roadway examination — for the most part — was put on hold while the Washougal Pit went through a conditional use permit hearing,” Lader told the council.
Through attorney Jamie Howsley, Zimmerly has been seeking land use permits from the county to reopen the mine. In 2023, the land use permit was denied by the county. The decision has been appealed to the Columbia River Gorge Commission. Howsley was the lone supporter to speak at the council meeting. He said recent studies have found the county is now below 20 years of permitted aggregate reserves. He said the county needs those materials and the mines to produce them.
“The critical takeaway is that, considering the length of time it does take to permit and open new aggregate mines, we’re quickly dwindling down,” Howsley told the council.
He said aggregate is being brought into the county from other parts of the state, which could affect housing availability.
“We’re trying to address affordable housing and it’s important to have the materials to do stuff,” Howsley said.
Lader said there are guidelines for the county to change a road from public to private ownership or vice versa.
“I could see if there’s a (traffic) volume need or a connectivity need, to support traffic safety and circulation, then we would consider that, or if there was a change in development in the area,” Lader said. “It’s very rare. I’ve been here 23 years now and haven’t seen a type of request like this go through outside the normal development practices.”
Several nearby residents argued Zimmerly’s request was an attempt to circumvent environmental analysis the company is required to complete to restart mining operations in the Washougal Pit. Many of the residents who spoke at the council meeting cited concerns about noise, dust and heavy traffic on the road that would return if mining operations at the Washougal Pit resume.
Mining operations on the property, owned by Judith Zimmerly and run by the Nutter Corp., ran from 2017 to 2020 but were halted after the Friends of the Columbia Gorge filed suit, taking the matter to the state Court of Appeals.
Resident Don Streeter said the road change “is another mean-spirited attempt by Zimmerly and their partners to try to get around land use laws and public opinion about their proposed activities.”
Streeter called the request a “Trojan horse” that would open the county to risks and liabilities.
Resident Zachary Grice brought a petition opposing the change signed by six of the eight property owners on the road.
“We don’t understand … why the county would be interested in this,” Grice said.
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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