Citizen Action Alert

This is a call to arms, and legs—and especially—butts. Your presence is needed for a show of force in the battle royal over Liberty Quarry. On the Mondays of Jan. 30 and Feb. 6, marathon hearings have been scheduled by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Riverside Convention Center located at 3443 Orange Street in Riverside.

The County Board of Supervisors has the power—and possibly the inclination—to overturn the County Planning Commission’s 4-1 vote denying Granite Construction’s application to situate a blasting rock quarry upwind of a populated city and next to an established ecological reserve.

If approved, the quarry would disrupt a rare and active wildlife corridor, damage the unique hydrology of the surrounding mountains and disrespect the birthplace of the Pechanga people. The health of the Santa Margarita River would also be jeopardized by a nearby quarry operation. Liberty Quarry could only be more offensive to people, place, animals, plants and faith if it were proposed for the Garden of Eden.

If anybody thought the quarry matter was resolved, think again, and then get your butt on the bus.

The battle colors have been chosen. Quarry opponents will be wearing orange, the color of warning and danger. Be part of the sea of orange at the convention center. Show the supervisors the sincerity of the citizenry in this showdown. Public comments can be made by voice, in writing, or by your silent presence at the hearing. Be there.

Visit http://www.sos-hills.org/ for information on buses providing the free 40-mile  ride to the convention center. The buses will return to Temecula at 1 p.m. because the time and distance of the lengthy hearings will be a hardship for many residents of the Temecula Valley to attend. Carpool arrangements can be made for those hearty enough to sit through the entire hearing.

Liberty Quarry proponents have chosen greedy green, the color of money, as their battle flag. This is appropriate considering the millions of dollars Granite Construction has spent in advertising, consultants and currying political favor up and down the state for this one project. The company stands to gain millions more raping a pristine piece of property.

Granite Construction has the big bucks and influence to fill meeting chambers with union members and the numerous subcontractors they do business with. At a 2009 County LAFCO hearing, Granite provided hot box lunches to their supporters and crowded citizens in favor of city annexation out of the hearing.

Nobody will be crowded out at the convention center so let’s turn the place orange.

The ordinary citizens of Save Our Southwest-Hills don’t have deep corporate coffers to buy influence. That is why the participation of we, the people is vitally important at these two hearings.

It took the extraordinary effort of many, many people to score a win for local control in the victory of the planning commission’s denial of Liberty Quarry. It was a sea of orange that helped carry the day.

This Board of Supervisors hearing is the Super Bowl of the Liberty Quarry decision. Citizens have the lead going into the fourth quarter, but Granite Construction has the ball and is threatening to score. We need an overwhelming orange defense.

The best way to keep the County from throwing Temecula, De Luz, Rainbow, Fallbrook, the Pechanga tribe and the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve under the bus is to get on the bus to the Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 Board of Supervisor’s hearings at the Riverside Convention Center. Make one or both trips, but for every seat filled on the bus, the supervisors are more likely to side with us.