Gail McCullough may have as much right as anyone to claim Snoqualmie Falls roots. The county resident attended classes at Snoqualmie Falls Elementary as a child, and made the place her home as an adult.

“I really enjoy living here,” McCullough said. “That’s why I decided to stay.”

When DirtFish Rally School opened its doors at the former Snoqualmie Falls lumber mill last year, McCullough figured its operations sounded innocuous enough. Then she started hearing hums and loud noises from cars driving on the course on weeknights and weekends.

“Then the race came,” McCullough said. The April 15 and 16 Global RallyCross Twin Peaks event, televised on ESPN, sent a cacophony, to her ears, through her residence. As McCullough told the Snoqualmie Planning Commission, “we could hear the PA system clearly, the guns before the races started, the cars going around the track. That’s what we heard, all day long.”

McCullough was among a number of Snoqualmie-area residents who aired concerns Monday, May 2, about noise at the mill adventure park at what was ostensibly a hearing on future zoning at the Mill Planning Area, a 600-acre plot of county land that’s slated to become part of Snoqualmie.

The seven-person planning commission approved existing commercial and industrial zoning following about 30 minutes of testimony, both against and in favor of DirtFish and rally car driving at the site.

Several neighbors to the rally course complained about how the April event appeared to flaunt initial publicity documents made in 2010 about Snoqualmie Mill Ventures LLC, the operator of the course. One such document, an executive summary and FAQ, ruled out any races.

“That’s what they said,” neighbor Kit McCormick told the commission. “What they’ve done is different.”

McCormick and others argued that more stands to be lost to the community than gained due to development at the mill site.

“Not all growth is good,” she said. “Snoqualmie has a claim to fame: its beautiful, small, quiet character.”

McCormick’s husband, Dave Eiffert, commented on what he characterized as the “extremely slimy fashion” in which the rally race was approved.

A temporary permit that allowed the race was granted during an exchange between Snoqualmie and King County—unable to see eye to eye on whether the rally course was a redevelopment of the site—in which the city agreed to begin the annexation process.

“We concluded that the DirtFish business did constitute redevelopment,” John Starbard, director of the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services, told the Record in an e-mail. “The most efficient way to resolve the difference of opinion about the need for a redevelopment agreement was for the city to annex the site.”

The King County Council approved the temporary use permit allowing the race.  King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert characterized the situation as the county deferring to what cities want in their urban growth areas.

“This is moving shortly to the city, and our policy is to help cities develop to what they want it to be,” she said.

Once in the city’s jurisdiction, the county’s zoning and conditions will go away; the site will have city zoning.

Snoqualmie Mill Ventures owner Steve Rimmer says the course has operated within all legal requirements.

“We did say we would be looking to hold TV events,” he told planning commissioners. “We don’t run a race track every day of the week.”

Rimmer said he understands that the course may have incurred the wrath of residents, but added that his door is open.

“We look forward to (talking) to people one on one and see how we can make this something the community wants and is proud of, and beneficial to everybody,” he said. “I would love to stay here in Snoqualmie. We took a positive view of starting a business here.”

Supporters of the course told the commission that they also see positives from a local rally presence.

Gateway Gas and Deli owners Jennifer and Brad Oberlander said their business takes a significant boost from rally car events, and Compass Outdoor Adventures owner Luke Talbott said the course is a big supporter of efforts to build Snoqualmie as a recreation destination.

“I’m open for making this a great venture for the community,” Brad Oberlander said.

Snoqualmie resident Cathy Gamble compared the rallies with the Northwest Railway Museum’s train rides. Train noises bother her, but “I never complain,” she said. “The train supports our community.”

Carmichael’s Hardware owner Wendy Thomas took a more neutral tone. She called for sober consideration of what development would mean for the Valley.

“There needs to be more time for consideration,” she said.

Resident Jeff Bucy questioned whether main street businesses will benefit much from rallies.

“Ten years down the road, is the track going to be worth more to the city, or the value of the homes around it and the people who spend money here every day?” he asked.

“When I tell people about the Valley, the word I use to describe it is ‘peace,’ Bucy said. “This Valley is a giant bowl. Every sound carries.”

Bucy was out of town, and glad of it, during the rally event. While he expects that the DirtFish owners are “here to stay,” Bucy wonders about who else might come along.

One speaker, John Schneider, remembers what the site was like when it was a huge, industrial lumber operation.

“A lot of noise came out of it—a lot more noise,” he said. “It’s always been zoned business. I don’t see any problem with it.”

While the planning commission ultimately voted in favor of the current designation—granting commercial and industrial zoning on the parts of the site out of the floodway, and open space in flood prone areas—one member, Duane Johnson, pondered whether the commission really had much to say, as the decision had to be consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan.

“I think everybody agrees.. that its best use would be as commercial property,” commission president Trapper Bailey said. He suggested that property could one day be developed into “something that does what everybody would like to see, hundreds of nine-to-five, family wage jobs. That would be fine to me.”

Planning Commissioner Susan Ranf cautioned that the city not let spectator events slip from its control.

“Anybody who thinks that what happened this year is what will be here in five or 10 years is naive,” she said. “If you go too fast and don’t understand what you’re getting into with major event facilities, you can’t turn back….  I feel we’re getting out over our skis.”

Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson cautioned the commission over what the mill site might look like without a rally course. He urged commissioners to visit the site and learn about DirtFish operations for themselves, saying that it fits into city goals for becoming an outdoor destination.

“If you think this is bad, you might want to reconsider shoving this off the table,” Larson said. “We cannot take the entitlement away from a landowner who could do commercial development that is far more impactful to the community.”

Larson agreed that the rally events make an impact, but said that others, such as the Snoqualmie Ridge 3 on 3 basketball tournament, Day Out With Thomas and the Boeing Classic do, too.

“That’s the kind of thing where we struggle to find balance,” he said.