SIMI VALLEY : Firm Asks to Mine, Then Develop Land

A Simi Valley developer wants to develop a sand and gravel mining operation at the southeast end of the city that would make it possible later to build a large residential development.

The Mackel Co. is proposing its mining project on a 287-acre site, roughly south of the Arroyo Simi between the south ends of Tapo Street and Yosemite Avenue, said Laura Kuhn, the city’s deputy director of planning. More than 90 acres of the site is outside the city limits and would have to be annexed before the company could move forward with its plans, she said.

Representatives of the Mackel Co. did not return phone calls Friday.

The developer contends that the state has designated portions of the property as mineral reserves due to sand and gravel deposits, Kuhn said. The state considers such reserves vital to a region’s ability to produce its own construction materials.

For this reason, the Mackel Co. asserts that it is permitted by state law to remove the minerals. This in turn would result in the grading of hillsides that would otherwise be protected by the city’s hillside ordinance.

Simi Valley officials are researching the state’s mining laws to determine the exact rights of the developer, she said. The city has also sent a letter to the state Mining and Geology Board stating its concerns about the potential environmental impacts that a mining operation would have in the city.

Meanwhile, the developer has requested that the city change the zoning on the 287-acre parcel to allow development of 750 residences on the property. The development would be a combination of mobile homes and single-family homes.

The City Council is scheduled to take up the zoning issue at its July 26 meeting.