Opponents Hope to Seal Quarry Plan in Stone

A North County citizens’ group has vowed to fight a proposal to quarry granite in the hills west of Lawrence Welk Village because of fears the operation might seriously damage the environment and cause traffic problems.

James McCarty, who lives near the village, said he and his group, called For Orderly Rural Controlled Environment (FORCE), have hired two consultants and an attorney to fight the planned quarry, which must be approved by county officials.

The quarry has been proposed by the H.G. Fenton Material Co. of San Diego, a concrete company. It needs county permission for building permits in the next two weeks, and the company hopes to begin quarrying the stone within the next year, Fenton planner Ted Brumleve said.

Brumleve said the proposed quarry, called Sycamore Ridge, would cover 30 acres of a 486-acre site directly across Interstate 15 from Lawrence Welk Village. The site is about three miles north of San Marcos, Brumleve said.

Rate of Production

The mine would produce 500,000 tons of granite a year during the first five years, after which production would increase to one million tons annually. The granite could be used for concrete, plaster, stucco and other construction materials.

FORCE members have charged that the quarry would ruin the picturesque hills near Lawrence Welk Village.

“It just doesn’t fit into the residential countryside,” McCarty said. “I can see them developing all (the hills) in the area.” He said Fenton’s long-term plan would eventually develop about 75 acres of Sycamore Ridge.

“Once these companies get going, they are not going to stop,” McCarty said.

Looking to the Future

FORCE was established recently by several citizens’ groups in and around Lawrence Welk Village not only to protest the Sycamore Ridge plan but other future projects that might affect the area, McCarty said.

Along with the aesthetic problems the quarry could cause, FORCE members say, they are concerned about what Fenton officials estimate will be between 160 to 250 daily truck trips to and from Sycamore Ridge.

“We’re worried about getting stuck behind all those 18-wheelers and all the dust they would cause,” McCarty said.

Brumleve denied that the quarry would be a detriment to the area.

“We are very concerned with keeping the visual quality of the area,” Brumleve said. “We are proposing to blend man-made ridges with natural ones so the (area) will be preserved.”

Brumleve said most of the mine would be out of sight of Lawrence Welk Village residents. “It is not going to have a big visual impact,” he said.

He added that Fenton would help pay for a new frontage road and interchange at Interstate 15 and Lawrence Welk Drive to ease traffic congestion.

Despite this pledge, McCarty said, FORCE will fight the quarry plan.

If all goes according to schedule, public hearings will be held on Sycamore Ridge in November. The quarry plan must go before county supervisors for final approval.