Board OKs Moorpark Asphalt Plant, but Limits Truck Trips

A mining company hoping to expand its operation in the hills above Moorpark won permission from Ventura County supervisors Tuesday to build an asphalt plant on the site, but was forced to accept limits on the number of truck trips to and from the facility.

The move brought both relief from company officials--who had asked supervisors to overturn an earlier county Planning Commission decision against the asphalt batch plant--and expressions of disgust from some neighbors of the gravel mine, angry at the prospect of petrochemical fumes wafting over their land.

Even neighbors who said they had no problems with the company, Transit Mixed Concrete Co., or its current operations said they worried about odors that the plant would create.

“That asphalt smells,” said David Spencer of nearby Roseland Road. “The impact on my family and my property values would be significant.”

But company officials said that with the right precautions, such as putting tarpaulins over asphalt-filled truck beds, the odor problem could be cut significantly. Their argument persuaded the supervisors to approve the expansion.

“My basic feeling is that if we condition this project properly, the batch plant will not be a problem,” Supervisor Judy Mikels said.

The decision caps a nearly 10-year process for renewal of the mine’s operating permit. Mining first began at the site in 1948 and has continued under a series of owners.

Although the mine--founded 35 years before Moorpark’s incorporation--predates most of the surrounding homes, residents have long complained about the amount of traffic it generates. Many of the trucks traveling to and from the site take Walnut Canyon Road through Moorpark to connect with California 118.

Responding to those complaints, the county Planning Commission voted in September to limit the number of truck trips to a daily maximum of 590 round trips, or 1,180 one-way trips, over the next 20 years. They also rejected the company’s request to build an asphalt manufacturing plant at the site, even though company officials noted that a similar plant once existed there.

Transit Mixed appealed to the Board of Supervisors to overrule the commission and grant the company both the batch plant and more one-way trips.

Glen Reiser, a lawyer for Transit Mixed, argued Tuesday that with the construction industry still climbing out of the economic doldrums, the mine needed the extra income that an asphalt plant would bring.

“We don’t believe the project is viable without the asphalt,” he said.

After County Planner Lou Merzario acknowledged that placing tarps over the trucks could reduce the smell, supervisors said they had little reason to reject the plant.

Reiser’s request for more flexibility on the number of trips, however, met with less enthusiasm.

Noting that much of the truck traffic ended up in downtown Moorpark, the city’s mayor, Pat Hunter, asked supervisors not to add more trips until some other route around the city can be built.

Reiser said after the meeting that Transit Mixed Concrete’s parent company, Southdown Inc., would have to consider whether the mine would still be profitable with the limitations on traffic. If not, the company may have to sell the operation, he said.

Finally, the board agreed not to impose an $887,000 environmental mitigation fee on the project until the relatively new program under which it was established, called the Vehicle Emissions Mitigation Program, underwent further county review.