Blasting project rankles Washougal neighbors

A group of Washougal residents are voicing their concerns about a blasting project set to begin later this month in their neighborhood, claiming that it has the potential to damage nearby homes and negatively impact their neighborhood’s livability.

“Any construction or blasting that has a probability of damaging neighboring homes, personal property or people should not be allowed by the City,” said Washougal resident Donald Parker, who spoke about the issue during a Washougal City Council workshop held July 8. “It’s really not the kind of thing you want to happen in a neighborhood.”

The blasting is scheduled to begin in late July or early August and is related to the excavation of rock material for the construction of infrastructure and lot preparation for a new subdivision, according to Washougal City Manager David Scott.

“It is anticipated that the blasting in the area closest to homes will take about a month,” Scott said. “There is additional blasting that will occur away from homes. The duration of that blasting is still being determined.”

The work will be done by Portland-based McCallum Rock Drilling and Vancouver-based Rotschy Inc. on the Granite Highlands Phase 7 housing development, according to McCallum’s marketing manager, Lindsey McCallum.

“There is nothing unusual about this phase of Granite Highlands versus the previous phases,” McCallum added. “Other phases required blasting as well in order to remove the solid rock. Blasting is done in accordance with all city, state and federal regulations. All blasts are designed with the most advanced technology in the industry to minimize impact on neighboring structures.”

Parker said the development is “across the street” from his house, in a neighborhood that includes more than 200 homes.

Parker told City leaders that he believes the blasting could damage his home.

“The front of our house sits on solid rock. The back is on (filled land). There’s potential for cracks and damages,” Parker said. “The front wall facing the view is a 52-foot wall of solid travertine. We have bathrooms with three walls that are all travertine. We have travertine floors. We have a travertine wall in the kitchen. To try to replace those would be astronomically expensive.”

Parker also told City leaders that he worries his possessions, which include paintings, pottery and other artwork, could be damaged as well.

“There’s a lot of concern that our personal property will be destroyed by breaking and falling due to vibrations,” Parker said. “We’ve collected all this stuff over the last 54 years. Many of these things are not replaceable.”

The project provides “an invasion of the privacy of neighboring homeowners,” according to Parker.

“The blasting permit requires photos and videos inside of our homes, which will destroy our privacy,” he said during the workshop. “(The videos are) not needed if there’s no expectation of damage, so obviously there’s an expectation here that something’s going to happen. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff in (my house) to video. I don’t particularly want that floating around.”

Washougal municipal code provides for independent pre-blast inspections, which means homeowners within a certain distance from the blasting site may have the integrity of their house inspected and recorded before and after the blasting.

“The distance within which this inspection process is required to be offered varies for each project, depending upon the details of the site,” the code states. “This inspection process is intended to provide documentation to protect the interests of both the homeowner and the blasting company. This opportunity for inspections is in no way expressing an anticipation of damage. The inspection is to be completed at a minimum of two days prior to blasting.”

Parker also claims the City failed to adequately discuss the project with nearby property owners.

“To date no information has been given to adjacent homeowners by the City, the developer, the general contractor or the blasting contractor,” Parker told The Post-Record. “The only information that has been given out is by a neighbor.”

Parker stated that the lack of communication has already disrupted his summer plans.

“It’s going to take us weeks to secure all this stuff. It’s not an overnight job,” he said. “We’re only going to get a week’s notice, so what do we do? Cancel our vacations, cancel our summer, tell our friends to stay away, start packing? I mean, that seems like what we’re up to here. There’s not enough time.”

The City is planning to retain the services of an independent third-party expert to review the permit documentation prior to blasting, be onsite for the first blast and review the monitoring of the rest of the operation, returning to the site if needed, Scott said.