Request to Delay Quarry Vote Denied

A request to delay voting on a proposed quarry near Temecula was denied today.

Granite Construction sent the request to the Riverside County Planning Commission in a letter earlier this month.

To read the letter,

The delay aimed to give the company and the tribe time to talk about a piece of legislation backed by Pechanga that could stop the quarry, if approved, the letter states.

Pechanga disagreed with the request to delay the vote because negotiations were going noplace, said Tribal Chairman Mark Macarro to the commission today.

"What they instead wanted to discuss is, 'What size of a crater will make this tenable for you?'" Macarro said. "We think (the request) is insincere."

The tribe made its case to deny the request for a delay in a letter written earlier this month. To read it, .

The commission will vote on the project tonight because putting it off will make no difference, according to commissioners.

"I cannot see an outcome that would change my decision," said Commissioner John Snell.

This will likely not be the end of the process, regardless of the outcome of the vote, said John Roth, the chair of the commission.
"That decision will probably be applied to the Board of Supervisors," Roth said. "You might have to do this all over again."

The project will sit in a 415-acre lot bordering Temecula to the south. To read more,