The proposed Hazel Dell sports fields were given the greet light this week by a Clark County hearings examiner.
Barring a lawsuit from neighbors, Clark County can proceed with plans to install a sports complex on 20 acres on the north side of Northeast 78th Street.
Hearings examiner Dan Kearns placed some conditions on the project, most of which are in line with conditions the county already put in place to mitigate significant environmental impact.
Those include making sure field lights and the public-address system won’t be used after 10 p.m., and properly planning for increased traffic.
The $9.1 million proposal calls for one large sports field for baseball, which could also be used for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and rugby; two medium Little League fields; and two small T-ball fields. The site would also feature batting cages, nature trails, a parking lot and a building with restrooms and concessions.
The county plans to partner with neighboring King’s Way Christian School to share sports fields and parking spaces.
The land is a federal Superfund site because of toxic compounds lying at least 50 feet beneath the surface. The Environmental Protection Agency said there’s no danger of exposure from building the ball fields.
Jack Davis, who lives next to the site, has led the opposition. He said Wednesday that he had not yet read the decision. He said he will talk to his neighbors and decide whether they want to sue the county to try to stop the project.
Davis testified at the hearing in June before Kearns. In addition to raising concerns about possible health risks, he said increased traffic will increase carbon dioxide levels and stormwater runoff will contribute to flooding.
Kearns said there’s no credible evidence supporting the idea that contaminated groundwater will ever reach the surface, and there’s no credible evidence the project will cause flooding, provided the county installs a proper stormwater system.
Kearns said the county does not have any applicable regulations regarding carbon dioxide emissions and so that argument “cannot serve as a basis to deny or condition this application.”
Davis said Wednesday that, “knowing its history, nothing good will ever come out of that field.”
“We believe this will be the death of our community,” Davis said. “Flooding, CO, crime, and possibly illnesses and deaths.”
Kearns also wrote of the alleged health risks: “Moreover, the only credible evidence about possible chemical vapors is that there are none and thus no risk to human health or the environment from vapors emanating from the contamination plume.”
Neighbor Richard Duncan testified at the June hearing that noise from the sports complex and lights from the field will invade his “sphere of privacy.”
Kearns said that, in addition to the lights being shut off at 10 p.m., the public-address system will be used from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and within three months of opening the county will have to pay for a noise study and take steps to mitigate excessive noise.
Kearns said that before the county starts construction, it will need to have a written agreement with King’s Way regarding parking and shared use of the fields.
The project will be funded by real estate excise taxes, which are paid when properties are sold.
The Greater Parks District, created after voters approved a property tax hike in 2005, will pay for maintenance.
Stephanie Rice: 360-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
