Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

City of Temecula may block quarry

The Temecula City Council and Granite Construction Company may soon be racing each other for ownership of the hills near Rainbow on which Granite Construction wants to build Liberty Quarry.

At a recent meeting, the Temecula City Council agreed to begin a feasibility study on the possibility of annexing the unincorporated land on which Granite Construction has applied for permits to operate.

Granite Construction began the long process of acquiring a permit in 2005. They need a permit only from the county of Riverside because the land in question is unincorporated and falls under the jurisdiction of the county.

The permit will eventually be voted on by Riverside officials, which is a cause for concern for Temecula Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Naggar. “You’d have people in the desert voting for what happens to us here,” commented Naggar at the meeting.

This will change if the city annexes the piece of land. Granite Construction will then need to acquire its permits through the City of Temecula. If the city annexes the land, it will be used as a place for research by San Diego State University, which already studies wildlife in the adjacent Santa Margarita nature reserve.

“It’s a wonderful idea, the annexation,” said Dr. Matt Rahn, director of the field station in the reserve. “This is a big potential benefit for both the city and the university.”

Councilwoman Maryanne Edwards agrees. “Through this annexation we will gain a great partner in San Diego State University,” she said. She also expressed frustration about Temecula’s lack of representation on the matter: “We have a big dog in that fight, but we’ve had our hands tied.”

Mayor Chuck Washington addressed the concerns of Granite Construction that most council members, including Washington, had not taken the tour Granite Construction had recently offered them. “I didn’t think that the tour given by Liberty Quarry could be impartial,” said Washington. He then called for City Manager Shawn Nelson to arrange city-sponsored tours of the quarry site for Temecula residents. “We can present the site in an impartial manner.”

In other matters, the council agreed to build and fund a new animal shelter, but the project is still waiting on the votes of three other city councils. The Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Canyon Lake city councils must all agree to fund part of the project.

“It’s time for everybody to step up to the plate and take responsibility,” said Maryanne Edwards, who acted as Temecula’s representative in coordinating the project with the other cities.

The Water District of Lake Elsinore donated the land to Animal Friends of the Valleys, a nonprofit organization formerly known as Lake Elsinore Animal Friends. Animal Friends of the Valleys will then lease the usage of the facility to the City of Temecula for $1.

The facility will be approximately 35,000 square feet and built to the same standards as hospitals. This will stand in contrast to the poor, run-down shape of the current facility.

If the other city councils vote it down then the Joint Powers Authority, made up of Edwards and council members from the other cities, will need to retool the plan until they can secure their respective cities’ votes.

Edwards predicts that having one regional shelter will not only be better for the animals housed there but will be cheaper for the cities. She projects the annual cost to operate the facility will be less than $250,000. This is a fraction of what two cities in San Diego are paying for their city animal shelters, which cost them in excess of $1 million annually.

 

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