SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Wednesday unanimously upheld the previous denial of a major use permit for a proposed sand-mining project near Rancho San Diego.
After a listening to almost 100 people -- including area residents, union members, environmental advocates, tribal representatives and a former colleague, Dianne Jacob -- during a public forum that lasted slightly more than 2 1/2 hours, supervisors rejected plans for the Cottonwood Sand Mine.
According to the county, the project "proposes the conversion of the existing Cottonwood Golf Club golf courses to a 10-year sand mining operation with an additional two-year reclamation period."
The proposed project would have covered 200 acres along Willow Glen Drive between Jamacha and Hillsdale roads in Rancho San Diego, just south of El Cajon. Concerns by nearby residents included traffic, noise and particulates from mining operations and aesthetics.
A Jamul resident said approving the mine would be the "Tijuana sewage crisis 2.0."
The permit, reclamation plan and associated state Environmental Quality Act requirements failed to win approval from the county Planning Commission on a 3-3 vote July 9. Four votes were required for passage. There was one vacancy on the commission.
Planning and Development Services staff members spoke in favor of the rejection during their Wednesday presentation.
Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe -- who represents District 4, which includes part of the project area -- said she appreciated the need for cheaper sand material for construction, especially in terms of more affordable housing.
However, she noted there was no guarantee that benefits from the sand mining operation would stay in the county and wasn't comfortable letting it move forward.
Supervisor Joel Anderson -- whose District 2 would also be directly impacted -- in a statement to City News Service after the vote said he appreciated "all of the work the developer put into the mine proposal, but sometimes projects don't fit their community."
Before casting her vote Wednesday, Supervisor Paloma Aguirre she had carefully considered the mine and its economic potential.
"I think the quality of life impacts that this project would bring are very significant" because of noise and safety concerns, said Aguirre, who added she couldn't support the project.
Supervisor Jim Desmond, an often-vocal proponent for more housing, said he "really struggled with this one," but was concerned "the project doesn't fit well there with community character."
"(Existing) housing was there first," Desmond added.
It was unclear what steps the mine developer, listed as Cottonwood Cajon ES on Wednesday's agenda, would take following the Board of Supervisors' vote. Jennifer Lynch, an attorney who spoke for the developer during Wednesday's meeting, couldn't be reached for comment after the vote.
Barry Jantz, a consultant and founder of the StopCottonwoodSandMine.org group, said he and other opponents were pleased by the board's vote. In the last week or so, "we were cautiously optimistic about the project being stopped," Jantz said. "At the same time, we weren't going to listen to anything but our hearts and turn out the community."
The board's vote meant it "saw it exactly the same way we did. It's just an incompatible use, in the middle of established residential area," Jantz added.
During the Wednesday meeting, Lynch asked the board to grant an appeal.
Lynch said activities on this proposed site "date back 75 years," she said. Even after a nearby golf course was completed, mining occurred in the 1970s, between 2007-09, and even as late as 2016, Lynch said.
The project has had extensive planning and environmental reviews; extraction is allowed on the site; and reports showed no significant noise, dust, air or water quality impact. There is no other suitable location for sand mining in the county, Lynch said.
"To be clear this is a sand mine, and not a rock quarry," she added. "There is no blasting, there is no rock crushing."
Lynch said the county would eventually gain 148 acres of open space from the project, and benefit from lower construction costs and additional revenue.
"In 10 years, there is no doubt the region will be better off from this site, " she said.
Other proponents, including carpenters' union members, said the mine was needed to help reduce a shortage of locally sourced sand for building, which impacts construction costs, housing projects and industry.
"When we fail to invest in the resources we need the most, we fail to invest in the people who live and the people who build this community and work here," said Jesse Garcia, of the local chapter of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters.
"We must choose growth, progress and the opportunity for everyone," he added.
Jacob, a District 2 county supervisor from 1993-2021, said that in her decades of experience, she had "never seen such a destructive project, with such negative impacts, on the people who live in the community."
Jacob also said the county already has six active sand mines.
A man who only gave his name as Tom said he had lived in Rancho San Diego for over 30 years and was drawn by its natural beauty, amenities and homes, and that a mine would put a damper on everything.
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