SEQUIM, Wash. — Linda Brenner moved to Sequim's "Happy Valley" neighborhood for peace and quiet.
"I sit out here and drink my coffee," Brenner said. "I watch the sunrise. I drink my coffee and listen to the birds."
Now, Brenner fears Happy Valley could soon be miserable.
Brenner moved to Sequim from Alaska to escape a coal mine that was being built in her community.
Four years later, she discovered a rock mine is being proposed at a vacant pit less than 600 feet from her front door.
"Yep," Brenner said. "We weren't expecting this. This is hitting a little too close to home."
According to paperwork filed with Clallam County, the mine would operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday with rock being blasted, drilled, crushed and trucked.
"It would just completely change everything," Brenne said. "You wouldn't be able to sit out and drink your coffee in the morning because that thing would be going."
Neighbors said dozens of homes, 74 wells, and at least seven school bus stops would be impacted by the mine. They pointed out another mine is already operational just 2.5 miles away.
Neighbors are mounting stiff opposition to the plan they fear is being rubber-stamped by the county.
"We're all affected," said organizer Carl Reichenbach. "We all care."
Reichenbach worries about potentially toxic dust from the pit getting into peoples' lungs and a nearby salmon creek.
Seventy truck trips per day would wind down a narrow two-lane road with blind curves and no sidewalks. Cyclists and pedestrians often use the road.
Then there is the noise that would echo throughout a not-so-Happy Valley.
"A commercial/industrial mining operation going on in this quiet residential community, it doesn't make common, logical sense," said Reichenbach, who is recently retired after more than 40 years in commercial/industrial construction management.
Emails to the person requesting a permit for the pit, John David Kirner, have not been returned.
For now, Brenner is pondering the possibility of plummeting home values and yet another move.
The thought of living next to a mine leaves a pit in her stomach.
"Nobody should have to experience this," Brenner said.