Politics & Government

Marathon Quarry Meeting Could Be Longest Ever

The nearly 16-hour-long meeting is the longest in memory, county officials say.

A nearly 16-hour-long meeting was likely the longest in the Riverside County Planning Department’s history, officials said.

The meeting Wednesday was the third in a series aiming to let residents address commissioners about Liberty Quarry, a planned mine just south of Temecula.

If approved, Watsonville-based Granite Construction will create a mile-long quarry on a 414-acre site bordering Temecula.

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To read about the meeting,

Though the county keeps no records on how long its meetings are, but the recent one was the longest in the planning department staff’s memory.

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“It is our understanding, based on word of mouth, that the meeting was the longest the County Planning Commission has had,” said Matt Straite of the planning department.

The meeting started at 9 a.m. Tuesday and ended around 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, he said.

The county’s long history – it formed in 1893 – adds to the uncertainty, said Ray Smith, a spokesperson for the County of Riverside.

A meeting in the early 1990s also took all day, though it was probably shorter than the recent quarry meeting, Smith said.

He was unable to say for sure, though. “I don’t know who’s still around who would remember.”

The hearing may be the longest of any government meeting in Temecula.

The longest City Council meeting was in January and decided the fate of a planned mosque. It ran for eight and a half hours from 7 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., according to Temecula officials.

To read about the meeting on the mosque,

The planning department aims to hold another hearing, though no date was set.


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