Item 1: PH on Ordinance Amending Metro Plan (Delta Sand and Gravel)

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We find that approval of the application will not conflict with agricultural practices within the impact area. The only property within the impact area currently committed to agricultural use is tax lot 900, located on the subject property’s northern boundary. The owner of tax lot 900 has maintained nursery tree stock on that property for many years without conflict or negative impact from the nearby Delta Sand and Gravel Company operating facility. The owner of tax lot 900 testified that he did not believe that Delta’s mining within the expansion area would have negative effect on or conflict with his agricultural operation. The facility’s existing excavation pit is immediately south of tax lot 900, well within 1500 feet of the agricultural use of tax lot 900. Approval of the application will not change the physical relationship of tax lot 900 to the excavation area. We further find that any potential conflicts, even though not existing in the past and not identified for the future, that have been identified in this application (noise, dust, flooding, groundwater, traffic, etc.) relative to other existing uses, would be equally minimized relative to agricultural uses by the application of the mitigation measures identified below in this section. (F) Other conflicts for which consideration is necessary in order to carry out ordinances that supersede Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) regulations pursuant to ORS 517.780; No ordinances that supersede DOGAMI regulations, pursuant to ORS 517.780 have been identified and therefore, no consideration of other conflicts associated with such ordinances is necessary. (c) The local government shall determine reasonable and practicable measures that would minimize the conflicts identified under subsection (b) of this section. To determine whether proposed measures would minimize conflicts to agricultural practices, the requirements of ORS 215.296 shall befollowed rather than the requirements of this section. If reasonable and practicable measures are identified to minimize all identified conflicts, mining shall be allowed at the site and subsection (d) of this section is not applicable. If identified conflicts cannot be minimized, subsection (d) of this section applies. Noise Daly-Standlee concluded that, with appropriate noise mitigation measures, noise generated by future mining operations in the proposed expansion area will comply with the most demanding interpretation of the DEQ Noise Regulations for Industry and Commerce at all residential properties around the proposed expansion area. Daly-Standlee begins its analysis of potential noise impact by stating that certain areas within the impact area may be subjected to mining activity noise above the limit allowed by the DEQ for a “new noise source” on a “previously unused site.” DEQ noise limits for a new noise source on a previously unused site (OAR 340-35-0015(14) and 340-35-0035(1)(b)(B)(i) (Table 8)) are more restrictive than the noise limits for “existing noise sources” (OAR 340-35-0015(17) and 340-35-0035(1)(a) (Table 7)). Daly-Standlee states that historically DEQ has ruled that when a mine site is expanded onto contiguous property, noise criteria which applied to the equipment before expansion shall also apply to the equipment while in the expansion area. Because aggregate mining has been occurring on the 474 adjacent acres of Delta Sand and Gravel Company ownership since 1927, it could be argued that the existing mining operation is an “existing noise source” and that the expansion area should be subjected to the less stringent existing noise source criteria under that historic DEQ interpretation. However, it could also be Page 14 – FINDINGS OF FACT