Pechanga to buy quarry site

CALIFORNIAN Thursday, November 15, 2012 by Dave Downey REGION: Pechanga to buy quarry site Resolving one of the most bitter disputes in Southwest County history, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and Granite Construction Co. announced Thursday they have reached agreement on a $20 million deal to torpedo the proposed Liberty Quarry. The tribe and company announced the Pechanga band has agreed to purchase 354 acres at the 414-acre project site south of Temecula for $3 million. (Escrow closed Thursday morning) The parties also stated in a news release that Pechanga will pay Granite $17.35 million to settle its dispute with the company over the proposed gravel pit just north of the Riverside-San Diego county line. Granite agreed not to pursue a quarry within six miles north of the site and within three miles to the south, through 2035. "This area holds profound historic, cultural and spiritual importance to the Pechanga and Luiseno peoples," Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro said in a statement. Macarro has said proposed Liberty Quarry, which would have mined up to 4 million tons of gravel a year for 50 years, was in the heart of the tribe’s creation area. At a news conference later, Macarro said the Pechanga band first expressed interest in buying the property in July ---- the same month Granite resurrected its project through a revised application. He said the tribe pursued the sale aggressively when it became clear that neither local government nor state law would prevent the quarry from going through. “This was a cause worth fighting to the end for,” he said. Calling the mountain "Pueska," Macarro said the tribe has no plans beyond preservation. Macarro said the California Environmental Quality Act needs to be amended to better protect cultural resources. Before the conference, Supervisor Bob Buster ---- one of two county supervisors who opposed the quarry ---- termed the sale “a breakthrough moment for the future of Southwest County.” Matt Rahn, director of San Diego State University’s field stations program and its next-door Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, has opposed the project from the outset. “Seven years later, this is an absolutely amazing outcome,” Rahn said by telephone. Granite Construction first proposed the project in 2005. Its original proposal called for extracting 5 million tons a year ---- for 75 years. But that plan was rejected in February by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, with a 3-2 vote. Following a surprise twist in May, in which the board certified the environmental impact report for the rejected project, Granite submitted an application in July for a “new” scaled-down quarry. That project was put on fast track, and was on track for a decision Dec. 11. The sale renders moot the Dec. 11 board item, as well as pending hearings on lawsuits filed by Temecula, the Save Our Southwest Hills environmental group and a conservation district aimed at halting the quarry. Granite Construction is not leaving the area entirely. Company spokeswoman Karie Reuther said Granite will withdraw its application Friday, but will continue to look for quarry sites in North San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County. “There is still a need for aggregate, still trucks driving on the road,” Reuther said, adding that sites near the county line remain preferable for serving the San Diego market. But she said no specific sites have been identified, and the company will discuss any that emerge with Pechanga. Reuther said the $17.35 million settlement reimburses Granite for most of its project costs. During extensive debate, it was projected 70 percent of the mined rock would be used in San Diego for building roads and other infrastructure. Granite said that meant fewer gravel-carrying trucks would travel through Southwest County, generating a net reduction in air pollution, traffic, and wear and tear on highways. Project opponents, who bitterly protested the county’s Nov. 6 fast track decision, disputed those benefits. They suggested the opposite was true: that air and traffic would worsen, the surrounding environment would be spoiled and Temecula’s burgeoning tourism-oriented economy would be ruined. None of that seemed to matter Thursday. “We’re absolutely thrilled that the tribe took such an important leadership role in this process,” Rahn said. “By doing this, they are protecting the integrity of future research and education at the Santa Margarita reserve. And this is going to protect remnants of some of the most pristine habitat left in Southern California.” Kathleen Hamilton of Save Our Southwest Hills called it “one of the greatest days of my life. Period.” For Temecula officials, it was like an early present. “That literally was potentially going to be the worst thing that could ever happen to Temecula and now today it’s like Christmas,” said Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington. “I could just jump up and down.” The city spent hundreds of thousands on studies, to counter studies by Granite that touted what it said were the project’s benefits. The city sued to overturn the fast-track decision and throw out the environmental report. Had the board given Granite the green light next month, Washington said he is confident Temecula would have prevailed. The city attempted to annex the land years ago. But that effort was thwarted by a regional agency. Washington said he would bring up the idea again. “I plan to float that idea by them,” he said. “We will keep that as they want it to be. If that’s what they wanted, we would pursue that.” The tribe held an afternoon news conference to discuss details of the deal. More than 100 project opponents showed up, smiling, hugging and commenting that the sale would boost area property values. They gave a standing ovation when the sale was formally announced around 3 p.m. Roslyn Holmes, who has lived in Temecula since 2001, greeted a member of the tribe with a wide smile and handshake, as she made her way to the combination news conference and ceremony. “Thank you so much,” Holmes said. “I can’t believe it. It’s bringing me to tears.” Susan Miyamoto, who lives next to the site, said her husband Mike Jurkosky “is in shock.” They were considering moving and now she said they will stay and make repairs. Pechanga also received praise from the man who led the fast-track charge, to the consternation of local supervisors. “I’m very pleased,” said Supervisor John Benoit, in a telephone interview. “We’ve been encouraging the parties to talk since Day 1. I’m glad they took that suggestion seriously and did that.” Earlier this month, Benoit persuaded a board majority to approve Granite’s fast-track request, saying the project had been scrutinized enough already through 81 hours of public hearings, including 51 hours before the Planning Commission and 30 before the Board of Supervisors. Last year and this year, boisterous hearings repeatedly drew dozens of people to several hundred. Opponents wore orange hats and T-shirts, and supporters - many of them construction workers touting jobs - wore green T-shirts.