Applegate Valley residents gathered at the Wooldridge Creek Winery to discuss a proposed gravel-hauling operation they say will affect their homes and businesses. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell)

Applegate residents fear a proposed rock quarry allowed under a Measure 37 claim could endanger motorists on North Applegate Road and threaten a growing wine business there.

"Unfortunately, this is going to change a nice drive in the country to a very iffy proposition," said Ted Warrick, who sells 98 percent of his wine from his tasting room at Wooldridge Creek Winery.

Copeland Sand and Gravel Inc. of Grants Pass has proposed excavating 514,000 tons of rock from a 20-acre pit on the Krouse Ranch property on North Applegate Road near the town of Applegate.

This will require 10 trucks an hour operating five days a week from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

If Copeland gets the necessary permit from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries by the end of June, it expects to start mining gravel by the middle of July, supplying rock used in concrete for bridges, houses and roads.

The Krouse Ranch owners got approval for a Measure 37 claim in June 2005, which got rid of many planning obstacles that would have been otherwise required.

"We'd be dead in the water without it (Measure 37)," said Medford attorney Dan O'Connor, who represents Copeland.

However, the county may still require a floodplain review, although O'Connor said a previous floodplain study along the Applegate River should suffice.

County planner Mike Mattson said the county is currently reviewing whether a new floodplain review is needed because the scope of the excavation goes beyond earlier studies.

"I think we will require one, but I cannot tell you for certain right now," he said.

Neighboring landowners say the proposed pit could change the course of the river.

"We're worried about losing land and the warming of the river and losing salmon," said Jamie Ford.

He also worries that the quarry could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Bill Peterson, director of administration for Copeland Sand and Gravel, Inc., said Copeland has no intention of operating after hours or on the weekends, although he said it could in an emergency situation, though he thinks that unlikely.

"I think we can be a very compatible neighbor," he said, noting the project will last two years.

A neighboring landowner, Rick Levine, said the Copeland proposal will hurt wineries and other businesses that depend on visitors who will have to compete with gravel trucks on the narrow, winding road.

"It's going to have an economic impact on folks," said Levine, former president of Rogue Community College.

Neighbors worry that North Applegate Road is too narrow for the trucks that haul rock, posing a threat to cyclists, school buses and motorcyclists on the roadway.

Copeland wanted to erect a temporary bridge across the river so trucks could avoid North Applegate Road and only use the highway, but it hasn't been able to get the necessary permits.

Peterson said gravel trucks will leave Krouse Ranch fully loaded and head down North Applegate to the town of Applegate. There, they will make a right turn on Highway 238, travel across the bridge and head back to Copeland's operation in Murphy.

Trucks will return empty along North Applegate Road.

Peterson said the route minimizes the number of left turns trucks have to make for safety reasons along the 12-mile route.

While he sympathizes with neighbors' concerns, Peterson said the operation should only last two years.

Peterson acknowledges that his company has had several notices of environmental violations in its quarry operations in Jospehine County in the past five years, but he said Copeland will do everything it can to be environmentally sensitive on this project.

Peterson said the company would prepare a floodplain review if it is required by the county.

"We want to make sure this floodplain pit is environmentally safe," he said.

Winery owners like Warrick point out that many agricultural enterprises in the valley are struggling, but wineries are doing well. Warrick and his wife, Mary Warrick, said the Oregon Wine Board has been actively promoting Southern Oregon wines recently, and she is concerned the quarry could threaten the viability of wineries in the Applegate area.

"Basically were talking about an industrial operation going on in the heart of it," she said. "It kind of destroys the ambiance."

Rich Holstrom, who opened the Applegate Valley Inn in January, doesn't oppose extracting rock, but he thinks Copeland needs to make sure that it does it without endangering the public.

"Yes, it will have an impact on my business, with noise and traffic," said Holstrom, who only found out about the issue two weeks ago. "But the main issue is safety. It's a winding road, and its not made for big trucks."

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.