Pasadena Star-News
Duarte intends to make courts decide the fate of Azusa Rock Quarry
By Daniel Tedford, Staff Writer
Posted: 07/23/2010 07:15:06 PM PDT
DUARTE – The city is going to take legal action against Azusa over a recently approved plan to
mine part of the Azusa Rock Quarry near Duarte’s border.
City Council members at their meeting Thursday voted unanimously to sue Azusa over a plan
by Vulcan Materials Co. to mine 80 acres west of Fish Canyon.
“The damage that will be done by this is just too much to ignore,” Duarte Councilman John
Fasana said. “At this point Azusa is throwing their lot in with Vulcan and they have come up with
a proposal that does some things for them at the expense of our residents.”
The city has until Aug. 6 to file a lawsuit, official said.
Along with challenging the plan and its environmental documents, Duarte will also argue that
Azusa committed a Brown Act violation during its process of reconsideration after the city
originally turned down the project in May, officials said.
Duarte in July 2008 established a $700,000 fund called Fight Against Vulcan Expansion. About
$500,000 remains in the fund after some was used to fight against the project during the
approval process, officials said.
“I wasn’t surprised at all they decided to litigate,” Azusa City Manager Fran Delach said. “They
had the war chest established. They had the gun pressed to everybody’s head since day one.”
Vulcan has a permit from Azusa to mine 190 acres of its 270-acre property near Fish Canyon.
With the council’s recent decision, Vulcan will be able to mine 80 acres on the western part of its
property.
The new mining would cut down Van Tassel Ridge, but would spare Fish Ridge, which was part
of the mining zone in the previous plan.
In addition, new environmental benefits are included in the plan as well as additional tax dollars
for Azusa.
“We were proud to be able to develop a plan that ensures maximum benefits to the community
and environment,” Vulcan spokeswoman Peg Casey said. “After near unanimous approval … we
are confident that plan will also be validated through the legal process.”
As part of the deal between Vulcan and Azusa, Vulcan will pay for legal representation against
Duarte, according to city documents.
Delach said city lawyers may represent the parties in a lawsuit because they are the experts on
the city-prepared environmental documents.
“We haven’t seen the nature of (Duarte’s) challenge at this point,” Delach said. “I assume we will
wait and see what the challenges are before we decide what legal team handles it.”
Duarte officials said objections raised during the public hearing process were ignored by Azusa
officials, including an alternative plan to mine both sides of the canyon but not the ridges, flaws in
the environmental report, an air-monitoring station on Vulcan’s property, and objections over an
alleged Brown Act violation by Azusa.
“These efforts, and many others, were designed to avoid litigation with Azusa and Vulcan,”
Duarte City Manager Darrell George said in a statement. “Unfortunately, because all of Duarte’s
other efforts have been ignored … Duarte must resort to the courts to protect its rights and the
rights of the broader San Gabriel Valley community.”
Delach denied those allegations, saying that Duarte was misrepresenting the facts.
“We did everything possible to make the program better for everyone with the focus on the
environmental mitigation and reclamation of the mountain,” Delach said. “We addressed their
concerns, we negotiated with the mining company to try and address those concerns. In regards
to the Brown Act, the City Attorney handled that by the book.”
Casey said it was clear the council and Vulcan listened to Duarte officials throughout the
process.
“Many of the environmental benefits that the city of Duarte recommended were included in the
final draft of the development agreement,” Casey said.
Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper group
The city of Duarte is alleging that when their neighbor Azusa approved a plan for a rock quarry near the towns’ border, they violated California’s Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. db
July 23, 2010
By Daniel Tedford
DUARTE – The city is going to take legal action against Azusa over a recently approved plan to
DUARTE – The city is going to take legal action against Azusa over a recently approved plan to
mine part of the Azusa Rock Quarry near Duarte’s border.
City Council members at their meeting Thursday voted unanimously to sue Azusa over a plan
by Vulcan Materials Co. to mine 80 acres west of Fish Canyon.
“The damage that will be done by this is just too much to ignore,” Duarte Councilman John
Fasana said. “At this point Azusa is throwing their lot in with Vulcan and they have come up with
a proposal that does some things for them at the expense of our residents.”
The city has until Aug. 6 to file a lawsuit, official said.
Along with challenging the plan and its environmental documents, Duarte will also argue that
Azusa committed a Brown Act violation during its process of reconsideration after the city
originally turned down the project in May, officials said.
Duarte in July 2008 established a $700,000 fund called Fight Against Vulcan Expansion. About
$500,000 remains in the fund after some was used to fight against the project during the
approval process, officials said.
“I wasn’t surprised at all they decided to litigate,” Azusa City Manager Fran Delach said. “They
had the war chest established. They had the gun pressed to everybody’s head since day one.”
Vulcan has a permit from Azusa to mine 190 acres of its 270-acre property near Fish Canyon.
With the council’s recent decision, Vulcan will be able to mine 80 acres on the western part of its
property.
The new mining would cut down Van Tassel Ridge, but would spare Fish Ridge, which was part
of the mining zone in the previous plan.
In addition, new environmental benefits are included in the plan as well as additional tax dollars
for Azusa.
“We were proud to be able to develop a plan that ensures maximum benefits to the community
and environment,” Vulcan spokeswoman Peg Casey said. “After near unanimous approval … we
are confident that plan will also be validated through the legal process.”
As part of the deal between Vulcan and Azusa, Vulcan will pay for legal representation against
Duarte, according to city documents.
Delach said city lawyers may represent the parties in a lawsuit because they are the experts on
the city-prepared environmental documents.
“We haven’t seen the nature of (Duarte’s) challenge at this point,” Delach said. “I assume we will
wait and see what the challenges are before we decide what legal team handles it.”
Duarte officials said objections raised during the public hearing process were ignored by Azusa
officials, including an alternative plan to mine both sides of the canyon but not the ridges, flaws in
the environmental report, an air-monitoring station on Vulcan’s property, and objections over an
alleged Brown Act violation by Azusa.
“These efforts, and many others, were designed to avoid litigation with Azusa and Vulcan,”
Duarte City Manager Darrell George said in a statement. “Unfortunately, because all of Duarte’s
other efforts have been ignored … Duarte must resort to the courts to protect its rights and the
rights of the broader San Gabriel Valley community.”
Delach denied those allegations, saying that Duarte was misrepresenting the facts.
“We did everything possible to make the program better for everyone with the focus on the
environmental mitigation and reclamation of the mountain,” Delach said. “We addressed their
concerns, we negotiated with the mining company to try and address those concerns. In regards
to the Brown Act, the City Attorney handled that by the book.”
Casey said it was clear the council and Vulcan listened to Duarte officials throughout the
process.
“Many of the environmental benefits that the city of Duarte recommended were included in the
final draft of the development agreement,” Casey said.
Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Newspaper group