Santa Margarita advisory council didn’t listen on Las Pilitas quarry

I’m a nonpartisan, 10-year resident of Santa Margarita and a follower of the local advisory council (SMAAC). I take exception to Ray Johnson’s assertion that SMAAC provides an accurate sense of the community’s will (“Debbie Arnold under attack from liberals,” June 5).

Mr. Johnson states that SMAAC “voted to support the rock quarry” but fails to mention that:

1. The SMAAC majority included a quarry applicant, his partner’s son, the quarry’s attorney and the quarry’s surveyor, as well as personal friends of the applicants.

2. The “support vote” item was not on the agenda; the public was not aware of a need to attend the meeting.

Also important to know is that the quarry was not supported by county planning, and it was denied by the county Planning Commission because of negative impacts greater than benefits. It was then denied by the Board of Supervisors for the same reasons. But Supervisor Arnold voted for it despite the detriment to her own town.

Maybe Ms. Arnold follows the lead of our advisory council, but our advisory council is not following the community’s best interest. Suggesting that the quarry had broad community support or that Ms. Arnold’s votes reflect her service to the whole community is simply not true.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Santa Margarita advisory council didn’t listen on Las Pilitas quarry."