The King County Council approved the expansion plans for the Cedar Hills Landfill on Wednesday morning with a 5-2 vote.
The vote comes after the King County Regional Policy Committee moved the controversial proposal forward earlier this month, but not before it was amended with stronger language after complaints from neighbors.
“I believe the landfill at this point has outlived its usefulness,” said Dave Vogel, who lives near the Maple Valley facility. He testified Wednesday that eagles, which prey on the dump, have dropped blood bags, bones and other garbage in his backyard.
The county’s solid waste department has claimed the landfill is at capacity.
However, neighbors suggested the smell and environmental impacts have overwhelmed the area. They pushed the King County Council to add amendments which include additional buffers, a bird management plan and a study for a long-term replacement.
Councilmember Reagan Dunn opposed the plan, saying the landfill has exponentially grown in size.
He said he wants to protest the "monolithic pile of garbage."
"You can see it from space. It's huge."
The right solution, he said, is not to continue putting a pile of trash in King County.