Stop The Trucks: Community Meeting Jan 30th
STOP THE TRUCKS!
COMMUNITY MEETING
Tuesday, January 30th - 7:00pm
Chaparral Auditorium, 414 E Ojai Ave.
You’re invited to come learn about plans to add hundreds more sand & gravel trucks on
Highway 33 through ours towns and the nearby national forest.
*A short photo presentation on Scenic Highway 33
*Speakers, including representatives from:
Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce
Los Padres ForestWatch
Highway 33 residents
Local Decision makers
School Representatives
Cuyama Valley Farmers
Forest users
…and more!
*Learn how you can help make a difference!
Letters needed by January 31 – how to make yours effective
Please RSVP to ensure that we print enough materials!
Call (805) 252-4277 and leave a message stating your first and last name and the number of people (if any) coming with you. This event is free and open to the public.
Increasing Gravel Truck Traffic on Route 33 Ignores Danger & Negative Economic Impact
It is fairly obvious to those of us who live in Ojai that the EIR of the Cuyama Troesh Ready-Mix proposal as conducted by agencies in Santa Barbara County would best be described as a joke if the negative consequences to our community were not so grave.
First: Ojai's economy and that of the surrounding region is based on tourism and safe access to the wilderness surrounding it. Adding a steady flow of fully loaded double hopper gravel trucks at all hours of the day and night onto California Route 33, which is the main transportation artery into the valley, is incompatable with safe access to this community.
Route 33 north of Ojai is mile for mile already one of the most dangerous highways in all of California. A simple check with the California Highway Patrol, the U.S. Forest Service or the ambulance services in Ojai will inform you that during any given week there are at least one to two fatal or near fatal wrecks in the mountains above town.
Second: Though the report appears to describe 33 as a rural highway, that is completely unrealistic. North above Ojai it is torturous two lane mountain road that climbs from the valley floor, twisting and turning through a dozen dangerous hairpin turns until it reaches a crest of over six thousand feet. From there it plunges rapidly in what more resembles a E-Ticket ride back to the isolated Cuyama Valley.
Route 33 was built during the Great Depression as a WPA project. At the time it was conceived as the ultimate north-south road for all California commerce. That 1920's vision failed the reality test. The road is simply too dangerous and it was ultimately replaced by the "5," the "101" and the "99."
Third: Route 33 already surpasses its maximum traffic loads in the Ojai Valley, particularly during the morning and afternoon rush hours. Once you pass Fairview heading south it is the main and at times only traffic artery through the heart of this valley, home to some thirty thousand residents. It passes by the hospital, the high school, our only shopping plaza, numerous senior citizen mobile home parks and the main generator of our economy, the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa. Adding double long gravel trucks at all hours is not going to help this situation.
Fourth: The statistics given as projections for the number of trips and the hours permitted by these trucks can also only be described as woven only from ones imagination as gravel trucks are already exceeding these limits now. Trucks currently descend into Ojai 24/7. There is no oversight or enforcement of current rules. How can we expect this scenario to improve?
Fifth: We are not against allowing the mining and trasportation of gravel. However the only safe solution is to require and restrict all gravel trucks to limit their driving to the far safer Route 166 from Cuyama to the 101 at Santa Maria.
Sixth: Though it may be in the power of Santa Barbara County to approve these permits, it is totally within the right and ability of the citizens of the Ojai Valley to protest this dangerous intrusion. Not only is protesting an art form in this valley, I don't think it is something a public official will want to tangle with. We are encouraging everyone we know to start by immediately emailing Gary Kaiser at the Santa Barbara Planning & Development Department gkaiser@co.santa-barbara.ca.us their personal disapproval of this permit and the EIR . All public comments must be received before January 31, 2007.
In response to overwhelming requests we have put together lists of email address that you should send your letters to. If you have already sent your letter to Gary Kaiser at the Santa Barbara Planning & Development Department, please forward copies to everyone on the list. Be sure to send copies to all of the press contacts as well.
Time is running out. Please act now and encourage everyone you know to do the same.
Email Contacts:
Gary Kaiser at the Santa Barbara Planning & Development Department
gkaiser@co.santa-barbara.ca.us
or by US Mail at:
Gary Kaiser
624 W. Foster Road
Santa Maria, CA 93455
(805) 934-6259 or by fax at (805) 934-6258
Santa Barbara County Supervisors:
jcenteno@co.santa-barbara.ca.us ; jgray@co.santa-barbara.ca.us ; bfirestone@co.santa-barbara.ca.us ; srose@co.santa-barbara.ca.us ; SupervisorCarbajal@sbcbos1.org
Santa Barbara News Press Email Address:
tarmstrong@newspress.com ; avw@newspress.com ; wmccaw@newspress.com ; voices@newspress.com
Ventura County Star:
letters@venturacountystar.com
mratcliff@venturacountystar.com
Ventura County Supervisors:
steve.bennett@ventura.org ; linda.parks@ventura.org; kathy.long@ventura.org ; john.flynn@ventura.org
Ojai Valley News:
bret@ojaivalleynews.com
Ojai City Council & City Manager:
smith@ci.ojai.ca.us; devito@ci.ojai.ca.us; horgan@ci.ojai.ca.us; hanstad@ci.ojai.ca.us; olsen@ci.ojai.ca.us;
Pacific Coast Business Times:
hadubroff@aol.com
State Assembly:
Assemblymember.Nava@assembly.ca.gov; Assemblymember.Strickland@assembly.ca.gov;
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Comments (4)
Dear Gary Kaiser,
I have read the EIR for the Troesh mine and note that mitigations for several of the negative community impacts are inadequate. As a result, the project imposes significant negative impacts that are unmitigated for the Ojai Valley community.
The CUP application proposes using the Highway 33 corridor for much of the mine hauling. Highway 33 bisects Casitas Springs, and many of the homes are significantly closer than 100’ from the road. The US Post Office does not allow individual home mail delivery because it feels the road is too dangerous. As a result, many pedestrians walk the roadway each day (remember, there are no sidewalks in this area). Additionally, the local school children are walking home from their school bus stops from 2 until 4:00pm, when the last of the busses arrives from the high schools. I suggest that appropriate mitigations would include a) to make sure that all hauling through this corridor have escorts to ensure slow speeds through the corridor, b) that the speed for haulers be dropped to 25mph in this section to address the slow stopping rate of a fully loaded truck and c) that the applicant install sidewalks in this road section to mitigate the increased hazard to pedestrians.
I take strong issue at the proposal for the applicant to keep a log of truck traffic as a traffic mitigation. This does not provide for any action to solve problems caused by the traffic, nor does it provide any repercussions for inappropriate actions by truckers. Recognizing that the truckers will often be independent contractors without significant control by the mine, I suggest that in addition to the log that trucking companies cited for poor driving be banned from working for the mine for a 60 day period. In addition, if the mine operators hire three or more contractors that are logged for citations, trucking operations must cease until additional safeguards be identified and put in place.
The applicant notes that there is the potential need for emergency mine operation and thus requests permission for round-the-clock operation. Documentation of emergency need, with periodic assessment of continued need, should be triggered any time ANY extensive operation occurs, including trucking on Sundays and holidays.
The road surface will be quickly degraded; with future repair and maintenance costs often deferred, Ojai and Ventura area drivers can expect to incur significant extra auto repairs. In fact, CalTrans has recently informed the Ojai Valley that it will not complete pending repairs on this corridor because it is out of money. I did not see any mitigation for this problem. One suggestion is to create a mitigation fund targeting low-income drivers of the Highway 33 corridor, to be used for auto repairs needed due to the deteriorating roadway.
Sincerely,
Lisa Meeker, Past Chair, Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council
10670 Creek Rd.
Ojai, CA
Comment #1 Posted by: Lisa Meeker | January 25, 2007 01:40 PM
Please do anything and everything possible to STOP the trucks on highway 33.
During several incidents I have had very close calls with these trucks which travel above the posted speed limit regularly and do not put tarps over their gravel which causes serious hazards for anybody following them.
From what I have personally witnessed, they also often drift into the oncoming lane of traffic causing serious hazards for obvious reasons.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Richard
Comment #2 Posted by: Gabriel Richard | January 30, 2007 10:40 AM
The SB county supervisors need to take a ride along the 33 HWY, it's a scenic drive but the highway can not to handle the heavy trucks and equipment. It's a two lane road passing between the High School, hospital, shopping center and residential area. Vehicles will be damaged from the rock debris that will fall from the trucks. Currently, traffic on the 33 is significant, the trucks will make it worse. Rock slides will increase due to the constant vibration of the trucks and eventually the hill where the Arnaz structure is located will come down. Residents of Ojai as well as people who have worked in this city remember how long it took for this area of the 33 to be repaired.
It comes down to: more noise, more traffic and damage to the highway as well to our vehicles.
Georgina Manriquez
Comment #3 Posted by: Georgina Manriquez | January 31, 2007 09:20 PM
Please stop the proposal of more sand and gravel trucks through Ojai, my husband and I are business owners and we do not want to see more traffic of trucks through our only avenue.
Thank you
Nancy & Jeff Rosen
Ojai Cafe Emporium
108 S. Montgomery St.
Comment #4 Posted by: nancy Rosen | February 5, 2007 09:39 AM