Central Pre-Mix Development Corp. is seeking to rezone for mining uses 85 acres of land it bought in 2008 at an auction of part of the former Spokane Raceway Park property.

Central Pre-Mix, which produces ready-mix cement and sand and gravel products, plans eventually to mine the land for gravel, but it will be two to four years before such activity begins there, says Barb Bailey, assistant manager of Central Pre-Mix's Spokane-Coeur d'Alene region. The property currently is zoned for light industrial use, but an adjacent property that Central Pre-Mix owns already is zoned for mining. The Washington state Department of Ecology has issued a determination of nonsignificance for the proposed zone change, although the public had until Wednesday, Feb. 24, to issue comments under the State Environmental Policy Act on it.

A public hearing on the zone change is scheduled before the city of Airway Heights planning commission for March 8 at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers.

The land is located south of Deno Road and directly east of a planned future extension of Russell Street in Airway Heights. The land is west of the Spokane County Raceway Park and directly north of the current Central Pre-Mix gravel pit.

The company currently is mining about 85 acres of land at its pit, and the parcel it bought at auction will be utilized for the same purpose later, Bailey says. Central Pre-Mix bought the parcel in 2008 for $1.6 million, according to Spokane County records. About 580 acres of property were auctioned off there by court-appointed receiver Barry Davidson, who was named in 2005 to supervise financial operations at the racetrack as a legal battle continued between operator Orville Moe and other investors in the raceway.

Spokane County bought 314 acres there, including the track itself and some potential park land.

Central Pre-Mix is owned by Oldcastle Materials Inc., of Washington, D.C., which is one of two U.S. arms of CRH plc, of Dublin, Ireland.