UPDATE: Liberty Quarry Hearing Underway

UDDATE 6:30 p.m.  Pechanga and consultants are final speakers for tonight.  The hearing isexpected to end by 7:00 p.m. 

Granite Construction and quarry supporters are expected to be  heard on February 14, when the BOS is expected to approve or deny the appeal on the Liberty Quarry project.

UPDATE 5:00 p.m.: Chairman Tavaglione calculates that all speakers will not be heard today and will end at 6:00 p.m.  Hearing will continue at 9:00 a.m. on February 14. 

UPDATE 3:45 p.m.:  San Diego State University researchers spoke of the unique outdoor  laboratory the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve has provided since 1962. 

The location of earthquake faults and an unexpected rare find in the composition of  the clay between rock surfaces were topics of discussion.  The clay is more akin  to what would be expected in a rainforest and this explains why the nearby  Rainbow ridge lines stay green compared to the dryer mountains on the east side of Interstate 15.

According to a SDSU researcher, the rare habitat linkage through the
proposed quarry site cannot be mitigated by rerouting wildlife to an overpass.   Animals currently traverse Interstate 15 over the freeway and in underneath culverts that exist for drainage.

City of Temecula Planners then played recordings from the City's County
application to annex the ecological reserve and hundreds of other acres in and around Temecula's Sphere of Influence.  The County Local Agency Formation  Commission (LAFCO) required that the City remove the proposed quarry site from the annexation area before granting the annexation in 2010. 

Granite Construction gets an opportunity for a final rebuke and though it
is possible the Board of Supervisors could come to a decision late today, it
appears more likely a third hearing will be scheduled.

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: Public speakers opposed to Liberty Quarry have finished speaking before the Board of Supervisors.  Granite Construction will get to offer a rebuttal.   Quarry opponents have a number of consultants prepared to speak with boxes of material at the ready.

UPDATE 2:20 p.m.: City News Service reports that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will not vote on the appeal until a third meeting this week or next week.

UPDATE 2:00 p.m.:
Liberty Quarry is an economic boon for the concession stand at the
Riverside Convention Center as Granite Construction again provides $13.00 meal tickets and new green shirts for the second Board of Supervisors hearing to appeal the Planning Commission's 4-1 denial of the project.

Chairman Tavaglione said there is a chance that the appellant (Granite Construction) could be heard  toward the end of the day and the Board could deliberate the decision today.

The crowd has thinned after lunch and appears evenly split between
orange-wearing quarry opponents and green-clad trade workers in favor of the quarry.

UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: 
Advocates for protecting the unspoiled land from Liberty Quarry continue to
address the Riverside County Board of Supervisors at the Riverside Convention Center nearly filled to capacity. 

Former Temecula City Manager Shawn Nelson has been at both hearings and today spoke in opposition to Liberty Quarry.

Granite Construction provided trade workers with green shirts and meal
vouchers as they did at the first hearing on January 30.

The lunch break will halt proceedings very shorty.

UPDATE 9:45 a.m: Board of Supervisors Chairman John Tavaglione provides instructions to public speakers and states hearing may take another hearing of a half day or longer.

Hearing from last week continues with those opposed to Liberty Quarry addressing the Board.  Granite Construction will have a rebuttal period and proponents, opponents and neutral speakers who did not get a chance to speak previously will  have an opportunity to speak. 

Public comments are expected to continue until  lunchtime.

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors is set to begin the final day of hearings on the Liberty Quarry project near Temecula.  Granite Construction is seeking approval of the project that would provide jobs and a local source of construction materials; while opponents claim the quarry will cause be an environmental hazard and be a on-going problem for residents.

Patch blogger Paul Jacobs will provide updates from the 9:00 a.m. hearing.

Return here to for the latest from the hearing.