Arlington salvage yard neighbor honks horn in support

By Brian Kelly

Herald Writer

ARLINGTON — The welcome wagon has finally arrived.

Long the subject of bitter barbs and community criticism, a controversial proposal for an auto salvage yard in south Arlington is finding some support.

Don Fitzpatrick Jr. and Airpark Industries have proposed building a 40-acre storage yard for totaled vehicles near 51st Avenue NE on former farmland south of the airport that’s now zoned for industrial uses.

The auto storage yard has been controversial, with some residents claiming the project will pollute salmon streams and an aquifer that provides drinking water to Marysville and Arlington residents. Others have warned about potential aesthetic impacts and decreases in property values.

But not everyone who lives near the site of a proposed auto storage yard is saying "There goes the neighborhood." Supporters — neighbors themselves to the auto storage site — are starting to step forward.

The storage yard would be operated by Copart, an auto recycler with more than 80 facilities in 36 states, including four in Washington.

"They’re a Class A company, as far as I’m concerned. I think it’s going to be a good-looking project," said Bill Kazala, a retired tugboat captain who lives across the road from the development site.

Copart has a good reputation in the state, Kazala said, and Fitzpatrick, the developer, has gone beyond what’s required and added bigger buffers to sensitive wetlands on the property.

Many of his neighbors support the project, Kazala said, but are afraid to say so publicly because they fear they will eventually be targeted by the project’s opponents if and when they try to develop their properties in the future. Kazala said he was personally threatened by one of the opponents, who promised to fight any development proposed for Kazala’s property.

Kazala has tried to annex his property and other adjacent land, about 144 acres, into the city in recent years. But that’s been put on hold, he said, because of the furor over the Copart project.

"We’re kinda waiting to see what happens here," Kazala said.

Still, it’s been frustrating for Kazala to hear the rough-and-tumble rhetoric from the fight over the proposed auto yard, a debate he says is filled with half-truths and scare tactics.

Although some have decried the loss of farmland if the auto yard is approved and built, Kazala said farms in the area have been dying off for many years, mostly due to regulations, suburban encroachment and other factors.

"Industry is not forcing these dairy farmers out," he said.

According to one longtime resident, there were roughly 30 farmers in the area in 1958. Now, just one dairy is operating, on leased land south of the auto yard site.

Kazala has lived in the neighborhood since the early 1970s. Back then, there was only a tavern and a fruit stand. Continuous commercial growth in the Smokey Point area, however, has spilled over to the east, to 51st Avenue NE and beyond. A gas station, a hotel and a bar were built a few years ago in the neighborhood, and Crown Distributing Co. is now building its new headquarters and distribution facility near the auto yard property.

And with 136,000 takeoffs and landings at the airport every year, the area is more suitable for businesses than homes, Kazala said.

"This is a perfect place for industry. Common sense tells you so," he said. "This is not viable farmland anymore. It’s growing, and you cannot stop growth."

Claims about potential pollution are also off-track, he said. Activity at the airport would drown out noises from the auto yard, Kazala said. And years of agriculture activity have created more water quality problems than could be expected from the proposed auto yard.

The developer will also be required to take steps to prevent environmental impacts. "If they go in, they are going to be under a microscope."

Many of those who oppose the auto yard don’t live in the neighborhood, but in new homes on the hills to the east. It’s ironic that those who live on the once heavily forested hillside are complaining about new development bringing the loss of a scenic vista, Kazala said.

"To me, looking up at those houses ain’t so pretty, either," he said.

You can call Herald Writer Brian Kelly at 425-339-3422 or send e-mail to kelly@heraldnet.com.