Supervisors Vote Unanimously Against Sand Mine

Cottonwood Golf Course in El Cajon, California | Photo by CBS8

Cottonwood Golf Course in El Cajon was being offered up to become a sand-mining pit.

Have you ever seen a sand mine or any above-ground mining operation in person? It's awful. They literally rape the environment.

Yes, they always agree to repair the damage they've done but it's never quite the same. Imagine trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

"The Cottonwood Sand Mining Project (Project) proposes the conversion of the existing Cottonwood Golf Club golf courses to a ten-year sand mining operation with an additional two-year reclamation period. Approximately 214.4 acres of the approximately 280-acre site are proposed for extractive use and restoration which would occur in a total of four phases. The extraction process would occur in three phases over the span of ten years and the cleanup, equipment removal, and final reclamation would occur in the fourth phase over two years." —San Diego County Planning & Development Services

It makes me wonder, when I read about these proposed projects, who comes up with these ideas and whose side are they really on? I don't think it's the residents' side. Who would want this monstrosity in their neighborhood, much less their community. How would it even be placed on the agenda?

Over 200 acres of sand mining would be taking place in the Valle De Oro area between Ivanhoe Ranch Road and Willow Glen Drive.

The mining would go on for ten years followed by a two-year reclamation period. Monday through Friday—five days a week—for a total of 520 weeks of pure torture. So many trucks would be traveling through the community, spilling sand along the roadways. Have you ever encountered sand on pavement? Slippery stuff to say the least.

“The quality of life impacts that this project would bring are very significant. Especially when it comes to the amount of trucks coming in.” —Supervisor Paloma Aguirre

The Eagles sang "It never rains in California" but I guess they never knew about the proposed Cottonwood Sand Mine. It would rain sand for the next ten plus years and possibly migrate into surrounding communities.

Sand in your house, sand in your car, sand in your teeth, sand in your shoes, sand in your eyes, sand in your sandwich, sand on your roads, sand in your garden, sand in your keyboard, sand in your ears, sand in your underwear, sand in your everywhere . . . get the idea?

"My previous experience living near mining taught me that sand invades your home, it invades your yard, it sticks to your house.” —Local resident

County staffers concluded that the mine would likely not bring widespread harm. But they still recommended against the proposal, citing a “harmful effect on desirable neighborhood character.”

It's must be bad, bad, bad when even the staffers oppose it. They're like the old Mikey commercials . . . "He likes everything!" They just want to build, build, build and make money for the County, no matter how awful the project.

"Our families never signed up to live next to an industrial zone."—Oday Yousif Jr., Valle de Oro Community Planning Group Chairman.

In July, the planning commission had rejected the project in a split 3-3 vote. Three-three . . . that means that three planning commissioners voted FOR the sand mine.

The San Diego County Planning Commission is a rough crowd. We went up against them on the Secure Self Storage facility proposed for Quarry Road in Bonita. We lost to a narrow vote, even though both the Sweetwater and Spring Valley Planning Boards opposed it.

Just like we appealed that decision, this developer appealed their planning commission decision to the full Board of Supervisors.

The room was packed with passionate community members opposed to the sand mine. So many were present that attendees had spilled into an overflow viewing room.

Almost 100 individuals asked to speak, a large majority were opposed to the mine. | Photo by Alejandro Tamayo / San Diego Union-Tribune

Those in favor of the project mainly came from the construction industry and a carpenter’s union. (Just like our Self-Storage facility proceedings . . . must be in their play book.)

In the end, the Board of Supervisors came together and opposed the project. It was the first time in a long spell that the Board would agree on something. That tells you how unacceptable this proposed project was.

And the community members who had so fiercely fought tooth-and-nail against the project? Why they deafened the room with a hearty applause. And all was well in the village again.

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