EVERETT — A debris recycling business cited by the county for doing business without permits will avoid paying fines, according to a Snohomish County hearing examiner ruling.
However, Hungry Buzzard must get county and health district permits to continue its operations, deputy hearing examiner Ed Good said in a ruling earlier this month.
The company and its attorney are reviewing the hearing examiner’s decision.
“We are essentially pursuing all of the avenues available to us in terms of gaining permits with the county,” said Marc Christiansen, managing member of Hungry Buzzard.
Whether the company will be granted permits is up in the air.
County code investigators stepped in when neighbors in the Copper Creek development complained in 2006 that Hungry Buzzard was raising dust and a ruckus by sorting construction debris at 1602 188th Place SE.
The company leases the land, which is beneath electrical transmission lines west of Bothell-Everett Highway and is owned by Leslie and Judy McClure.
Hungry Buzzard rents out garbage containers to construction job sites and later retrieves them to recycle the contents — described as building materials including roofing, wood, concrete, metal and masonry.
The county ordered the company to shut down by June 29, 2007, or set things right by seeking permits. The company filed for permits, but also appealed the county’s decision that permits were required.
The hearing examiner agreed with the county’s position, said Craig Ladiser, county planning and development services director.
“I’m hopeful now that the applicant will follow through and get their permits,” he said.
The neighbors had legitimate concerns about the company, Ladiser said.
The company should have been fined because owners knew they needed permits yet still cleared and paved the property and built retaining walls, Ladiser said.
The company never was cited for noise or dust complaints made by the neighbors, Christiansen said.
The company continues to operate and store containers on the leased property, but Jared Parsley, a neighbor who lives about 200 feet from the company’s property, said things have quieted down.
Parsley said strict rules for wood waste recycling might prevent the company from ever getting a permit for the property.
“It’s not really dead yet, but it’s getting more and more difficult for them to obtain a permit,” he said. “I’m glad that the county made the right choice and hopefully Hungry Buzzard will be out of there for good.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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