The site of a Snohomish County gravel yard that stirred controversy earlier this year by operating directly next to an elementary school has, amid legal wrangling with the county, now gone up for sale. The 2.7-acre property near Everett, which is currently owned by Maple Valley-based OMA Construction, hit the market on May 30, as first reported by The (Everett) Herald .
Colliers has listed the site for $3.5 million and is “offering this as a vacant property at closing,” broker Talor Okada said in an email Thursday. The yard’s operation has been a subject of contention for months, with school leaders urging the county to address complaints from teachers, students and parents about disruptive noise, truck exhaust and dust.
The drama started last spring after OMA opened the Everett Aggregate Yard next to Fairmount Elementary School and Pathfinder Kindergarten Center without having already obtained permits and gone through environmental reviews. The company began using the site as a distribution hub, with trucks loading and unloading large piles of gravel, sand and other material near classrooms and play areas on the Mukilteo School District campus. As the county gave OMA time to apply for permits, teachers reported loud bangs interrupting their lessons, dust forcing them to keep their windows closed even on hot days and indications of potential health impacts, such as coughing, bloody noses and headaches.
Fairmount’s principal questioned whether the yard would be tolerat.
