TEMECULA: Full-speed ahead on city's fast-track quarry suit
Aaron Claverie North County Times/Californian
December 08, 2012
TEMECULA — The city of Temecula will move forward with the two lawsuits it filed earlier this year to stop Granite Construction's Liberty Quarry project, a mine that had been proposed for land on its southern border.
The actions were announced recently by City Attorney Peter Thorson.
The city filed two quarry-related suits: one to render null and void the county's approval of the environmental documentation for the quarry and another to scuttle the county's move to add mining projects to its fast-track program.
Both actions were targeted by the city because they served to clear the way for quickie approval of a scaled-down version of the mine, which was hotly opposed by the city, environmentalists and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.
The Pechanga ended up spiking the project for good on Nov. 15 by buying the land that had been proposed for the mine, acreage near the San Diego County border that is tied to the tribe's ancestral birthplace and considered sacred.
The lawsuits, however, are still active.
Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington said the city is moving forward with the fast-track suit and seeking to recoup its legal costs in the environmental documentation matter.
Talking about the suits individually, Washington said the city has concerns about the fast-track issue because of its regional ramifications.
In addition to adding mining projects to its fast-track program, which allows for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to directly approve projects without review by its Planning Commission, the county included wind power and solar power plants into the program.
"We don't believe it's appropriate," he said.
In the event the county amends its action, the city would reconsider its decision on pursuing the suit, Washington added.
The other suit always was a tricky one because the county Board of Supervisors voted to approve the environmental documentation for Liberty Quarry after voting to uphold the denial of the project by the Riverside County Planning Commission.
That action was declared "unusual" at the time and there was little case law that illuminated the legality of the move.
In a mid-October hearing, Superior Court Judge Craig Riemer said he needed more time to rule on the suit's particulars and postponed action.
Washington said the city will attempt to recoup its legal costs related to that suit, but he said the initial thrust of the litigation has been affected by Granite's decision to withdraw its application after the sale of the land to the Pechanga.
"There's no project," he said.
The city was joined in court by Save Our Southwest Hills, a local group that worked for years to stop the mine.
Ray Johnson, an environmental law attorney representing the group, said he plans to continue working on the fast-track suit because of what he called the dangerous precedent it would set: allowing huge projects to be rushed through the planning process without full review by the public.
Granite Construction will end up paying for the county's defense of the quarry-related suits, according to county spokesman Ray Smith.
The actions were announced recently by City Attorney Peter Thorson.
The city filed two quarry-related suits: one to render null and void the county's approval of the environmental documentation for the quarry and another to scuttle the county's move to add mining projects to its fast-track program.
Both actions were targeted by the city because they served to clear the way for quickie approval of a scaled-down version of the mine, which was hotly opposed by the city, environmentalists and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians.
The Pechanga ended up spiking the project for good on Nov. 15 by buying the land that had been proposed for the mine, acreage near the San Diego County border that is tied to the tribe's ancestral birthplace and considered sacred.
The lawsuits, however, are still active.
Temecula Mayor Chuck Washington said the city is moving forward with the fast-track suit and seeking to recoup its legal costs in the environmental documentation matter.
Talking about the suits individually, Washington said the city has concerns about the fast-track issue because of its regional ramifications.
In addition to adding mining projects to its fast-track program, which allows for the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to directly approve projects without review by its Planning Commission, the county included wind power and solar power plants into the program.
"We don't believe it's appropriate," he said.
In the event the county amends its action, the city would reconsider its decision on pursuing the suit, Washington added.
The other suit always was a tricky one because the county Board of Supervisors voted to approve the environmental documentation for Liberty Quarry after voting to uphold the denial of the project by the Riverside County Planning Commission.
That action was declared "unusual" at the time and there was little case law that illuminated the legality of the move.
In a mid-October hearing, Superior Court Judge Craig Riemer said he needed more time to rule on the suit's particulars and postponed action.
Washington said the city will attempt to recoup its legal costs related to that suit, but he said the initial thrust of the litigation has been affected by Granite's decision to withdraw its application after the sale of the land to the Pechanga.
"There's no project," he said.
The city was joined in court by Save Our Southwest Hills, a local group that worked for years to stop the mine.
Ray Johnson, an environmental law attorney representing the group, said he plans to continue working on the fast-track suit because of what he called the dangerous precedent it would set: allowing huge projects to be rushed through the planning process without full review by the public.
Granite Construction will end up paying for the county's defense of the quarry-related suits, according to county spokesman Ray Smith.
No comments:
Post a Comment