ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

For the Full Story Go To:
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/27/ojai-residents-complain-of-trucks-on-highway-33/
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More Highlights:

....Ozena has drawn most of Stop the Trucks' ire, because it's the biggest operation that falls under the jurisdiction of Ventura County planners.

…Stop the Trucks maintains that the highway, a two-lane road designated as a scenic route, is unsuitable for heavy trucks. Members also worry about the effects on road safety and air quality in Ojai.

…"Our desire for the town of Ojai is to keep it from being a wide-open industrial trucking zone," said Stop the Trucks Chairman Michael Shapiro. "I really believe the character of Ojai, the quality of life, the safety, the health and welfare, and the economy and lifeblood of this town will become irreparably damaged if that happens."

....Ozena is one of four mines in the mountains far north of Ojai, near the intersection of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Kern counties. Two more mines are in the planning stages, both in Santa Barbara County.

...The mine's county permit states its "normal hours of operation" for trucks traveling on Highway 33 in the Ojai Valley are from 6 to 7 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

...Last week, Stop the Trucks wrote a letter to the county accusing one sand and gravel mine, Ozena Valley Ranch, of routinely violating its permit last year by allowing trucks to travel down Highway 33 outside of the permitted hours.

Highlights of our Complaint Letter to County CEO Marty Robinson and Supervisors Foy, Bennett, Long, Flynn & Parks:

…We found that of the 649 weigh tickets reviewed, 476 were for trucks that used Route 33 north or south through Ojai and Casitas Springs. By our count over 268 -- or over 40% of the total, amounting to an astonishing 55% of those going through our valley -- were in apparent violation of Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170.

…There is a an obvious need for an independent Ombudsman to not only undertake a further investigation into abuse of CUP 5170 by the permit holders, but also the very operation of compliance monitoring by the Planning Division as was called for by the Board of Supervisors on the day of Tom Berg's presentation.

…Ms. Rodriguez's decision to not retroactively enforce violations is, in itself, questionable. It is akin to a Police Department refusing to stop criminal behavior because patrol officers were ignorant of the law. Incompetence of staff is no excuse for justifying a unilateral decision to override the conditions of a C.U.P.

…Given the Planning Division's claim that it is seemingly impossible to monitor C.U.P. compliance, the County had no business, under CEQA guidelines, approving the C.U.P. in the first place.

…Adding insult to injury, Kim Rodriguez, in her December 21, 2007 letter to Mr. Bergman, actually encouraged Ozena to appeal her ruling that the C.U.P. will be strictly enforce. Ms. Rodriguez was later over-ruled by County Counsel who determined that there can be no appeal because, in fact, what Ozena would be appealing is the very C.U.P. conditions that they, themselves, had already agreed to and had supposedly been operating under for eight years.

…Having been denied an appeal of the C.U.P., the lawyers for Ozena have now filed a "Verified Petition for a Writ of Mandamus," to get their conditions changed.

…Given the Division's history on this C.U.P., would it be out-of-line to wonder if, in fact, they were encouraged to do so by county officials? I sincerely hope not.

...None of this would amount to much except for the ongoing impacts to the Ojai Valley – which can not be reversed or repaired. The original C.U.P. expired in 2006. While its renewal is debated, the failures of the Planning Division to follow CEQA and properly monitor compliance have not only increased the number and hours of trucking, but have also increased onerous air and noise pollution; furthered road bed damage; diminished the quality of life and property values of all those who live along the Route 33 corridor; increased the odds of accidents on all stretches of Route 33; and opened up the County to civil liability and litigation.

…It has become painfully clear that neither the staff, administration of the Resource Management Agency or the Planning Division, are going to police themselves. The citizens of Ventura County should not have to suffer the burdens created by the intransigence and/or incompetence of public employees….

...We respectfully ask the following:

3) We believe that given Mr. Patrick Richards' judgments regarding oversight of the Ozena Ranch Mine project (some of which are detailed below) that he should be barred from having any further involvement with this project or any other involving Ojai.