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More gravel, fewer trees in Napa's future
More gravel, fewer trees in Napa's future
Bill Hocker | Oct 21, 2015 on: Syar Expansion
NVR 10/22/15: Planning Commission supports Syar quarry expansion
Syar's EIR and scaled down proposal (1.3 x current yearly production vs 2 x, and a couple of chunks removed at the edges of the new excavation area) were approved after a marathon day for the planning commission. Only one 4 acre bit of the staff recommendated 35 acre 'hybrid' reduction, crafted to put some space between Skyline Park and the pits, was included. The staff still needs to tidy up things so that a final vote, not a public hearing, can be made on Nov 18th.
Given the complexities of the issues and the 7 years, and thousands of pages of documents, and hundreds of letters and petitions and public comments, and dozens of meetings, and vast amounts of time and money spent on technical studies to get to this point (see here), the closing presentation by staff and discussion by the commission had a distinctly superficial feel to it. And it was a particularly sad end to the valiant effort made by residents over the last year to reduce the impacts on Skyline Park and their community.
Wilderness preservation or gravel pits. The vote was an ominous vision for the future of Napa County: the current rate of urban development isn't fast enough, apparently; it needs to be increased 1.3 times. It does not bode well for all of us devoting so much time trying to protect the rural character of the county, and our quality of life, from urban consumption.
NVR 10/22/15: Planning Commission supports Syar quarry expansion
Syar's EIR and scaled down proposal (1.3 x current yearly production vs 2 x, and a couple of chunks removed at the edges of the new excavation area) were approved after a marathon day for the planning commission. Only one 4 acre bit of the staff recommendated 35 acre 'hybrid' reduction, crafted to put some space between Skyline Park and the pits, was included. The staff still needs to tidy up things so that a final vote, not a public hearing, can be made on Nov 18th.
Given the complexities of the issues and the 7 years, and thousands of pages of documents, and hundreds of letters and petitions and public comments, and dozens of meetings, and vast amounts of time and money spent on technical studies to get to this point (see here), the closing presentation by staff and discussion by the commission had a distinctly superficial feel to it. And it was a particularly sad end to the valiant effort made by residents over the last year to reduce the impacts on Skyline Park and their community.
Wilderness preservation or gravel pits. The vote was an ominous vision for the future of Napa County: the current rate of urban development isn't fast enough, apparently; it needs to be increased 1.3 times. It does not bode well for all of us devoting so much time trying to protect the rural character of the county, and our quality of life, from urban consumption.