Commissioners Hearing Quarry Have No Conflict of Interest

The relationship of two county officials with a proposed quarry near Temecula were questioned by a federal agency, which declared them free of conflicts of interest.

The Fair Political Practices Commission examined Riverside County Planning Commissioners Jim Porras and John Snell for their connection with a teacher’s union and Granite Construction, a company just south of Temecula.

The two commissioners recused themselves from due to concerns over the possibility they might benefit from quarry’s proceeds.

If the plan’s is approved, the quarry will pay between $100 million and $300 million over 50 years into the state’s teacher retirement fund, said officials from Granite Construction, according to the county.

Porras is a teacher, and Snell’s wife and daughter are teachers, and money the quarry will generate will benefit the teacher’s retirement fund. So, some of that money will eventually end up in the commissioners’ pockets.

The amount each commissioner would receive would be too small to be considered a conflict on interest, according to John Wallace of the Fair Political Practices Commission.

“The amount received by each individual would be less than the required threshold for gift reporting,” he wrote in a letter to the county.

The commissioners or their family members would need to get an extra $500 per year to be considered a conflict of interest, and after being distributed to teachers all over the state, the money coming from the quarry falls short of that, Wallace wrote.

“We cannot conceive how this matter would result in any personal financial effect on either Commissioner Porras or Commissioner Snell’s wife.”

Granite Construction applied for surface mining permits, an exception to the county’s noise ordinance and a change in the county’s zoning plan.

The planning commission will make the final decision on the mining permits and the noise ordinance, and it will make a recommendation to the county Board of Supervisors about the zoning change, according to the county planning department.

The next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 22 at . For details, .