Supervisors Reject Bid for Strip-Mine Project

Saying that mining in the midst of productive farmland poses too great a threat to agriculture, the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday refused to allow an El Rio company to scoop millions of tons of gravel from beneath a rolling lemon grove outside Fillmore.

Ranchers, city officials and environmentalists hailed the 4-1 decision as a landmark ruling that would shelter the pristine Santa Clara Valley from encroaching industry and development for decades.

“It’s a great victory for agriculture in the Santa Clara Valley,” said Mike Mobley, president of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “We’ve finally got our voices heard.

“We feel absolutely adamant that mining in an agricultural area is totally incompatible.”

But Southern Pacific Milling Co. executives, who had appealed to supervisors after having their project turned down by the county Planning Commission, said the decision would spur layoffs and raise construction costs in Ventura County.

“I have to apologize to our employees who will be impacted,” said Vice President Bill Berger, who added that 20 or more workers would lose their jobs. “We will have the layoffs we said we would have.”

After eight hours of public discussion that stretched over two days, four of five county supervisors rejected an appeal by SP Milling to launch a sprawling strip-mining operation about two miles west of Fillmore.

The company planned to rip up citrus groves and unearth rocks from more than 100 acres between California 126 and Sycamore Road.

To minimize damage to the environment, miners would have worked two acres at a time, clearing the area of the rocks that would later have been turned into concrete and sold to construction companies.

Company officials argued that the property could be replanted once the mining was completed. They also offered to dedicate 300 nearby acres to a land trust that would never be mined.

Staff planners advised the board to allow the 29-year mining operation with scores of detailed conditions.

But the board majority concluded that allowing such digging at Sycamore Ranch could pave the way for more mining and disrupt farming in the Santa Clara Valley. Increased dust, traffic and visual blight were among the concerns cited by supervisors and project opponents.

“I do not think the public benefit overrides the impact,” said Supervisor Maggie Kildee, who represents the area on the board. “This is a new project in a previously unmined area, and I cannot get over that.”

The only vote to allow the mine on more than 100 acres of lemon trees came from Supervisor Susan K. Lacey, who said the General Plan, the county’s primary planning document, does not prohibit such uses in agricultural zones.

But the majority of supervisors upheld an earlier decision by the Planning Commission, which concluded in August that strip-mining should not be allowed in farmland.

“Agriculture is an extremely important part of the economic base,” board Chairman Frank Schillo said. “It’s an extremely important base of employment.

“If we were to go with the SP Milling project today, we would probably be opening the door to future mining projects.”

Fillmore Mayor Roger Campbell was jubilant after the vote, crediting the scores of farmers and residents who spoke against the mining project with swaying the board majority.

“Today’s vote proves that the system works,” he said. “It has to do with being able to trust our elected officials to make the proper decision after looking at all the facts.”

The public comment obviously swayed Supervisor John K. Flynn, who admitted that the emotional testimony by frightened farmers made him think again.

“I came into this hearing pretty much decided that I was going to support” SP Milling, Flynn said. “I’m changing my mind, and it’s tough to do. But this is going to have an adverse effect on agriculture.”

More than 100 people testified during the two-day public hearing, with dozens of speakers on each side of the issue.

SP worker Lloyd West said that denying the mining permit would force his employer to import gravel from outside Ventura County, raising construction costs for cities and contractors.

“Building products at an affordable price is something we’ve got to have,” he told the board.

But farmer Anita Nelson said the Santa Clara Valley already houses a new jail and an oversize dump and could host a busy weigh station along California 126.

“We are under siege,” she said. “If you don’t consider the cumulative effect [of these projects], our farms are doomed.”

Afterward, the mood was gloomy outside the Hall of Administration, where dozens of SP Milling workers complained about the vote. Some cursed and hatched plots to oust the supervisors who voted to deny the permit.

“Decisions like these have a domino effect across the whole region,” said Barbara Baker, a cement truck driver who has worked for the milling company for 12 years. “And we all pay taxes in this county.”

Nearby, longtime driver Rodney DeCaro worried about his future.

“We’re not trying to make enemies with the people of Fillmore,” he said. “Most of them understand our issues. But no one wants to see people lose their jobs.”

Nonetheless, Stuart Fox, a member of the citizens group Stop Mining in Rural Fillmore, which also opposed the SP permit, was impressed that supervisors proved they are committed to farming.

“We would have ended up with a hole in the ground with stunted trees,” he said.

“Sometimes we get kind of cynical about the political process.”