Herald residents worried about gravel mining proposal

Sacramento's most prominent housing developer has been waiting almost eight years to mine 330 acres of topsoil and gravel, but ranchers in the Herald area have continually objected to the project because it would destroy the area's peace and quiet.

Angelo Tsakopoulos is waiting for a traffic study to be completed to go with the draft environmental impact report that has already been prepared.

Tsakopoulos' application for a conditional use permit calls for 191 trucks a day to travel along Herald roads to and from the plant for 25 to 30 years.

"Hundreds of trucks will be going up and down our substandard roads, where we have children waiting for school buses," Herald resident Jean Hess said.

Herald also has horseback riders who use the roads. They would be affected by gravel trucks traveling to and from the plant, Hess said.

Many of the trucks are likely to take Twin Cities Road east of Highway 99. That prompted the city of Galt to send a letter to Sacramento County, stating its concern over the freeway interchange being inadequate for the truck volume the project would create along with student safety issues at the Twin Cities-Marengo Road intersection, Galt City Councilman Darryl Clare said.

Estrellita Continuation High School and the future Liberty Ranch High School are on Marengo Road, a block from Twin Cities Road.

Calls this week to representatives for Tsakapolous were not returned.

Herald residents also maintain that mining the Borden Junction area would reduce the groundwater table, and the trucks would pollute the air.

Borden Ranch mining project at a glance

Applicant: Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, also known as Borden Ranch Partnership.

Location: Eastern end of Borden Road, 9.3 miles east of Galt, 5 miles south of Rancho Seco and across Dry Creek from Mackville Road in Clements.

Size: 330 acres.

Length of project: 25 to 30 years.

Estimated yield: 6 million cubic yards of topsoil, 3 million cubic yards of aggregate.

Source: Sacramento County Planning and Community Development Department

"It's a tremendous burden they're asking us to swallow," said project opponent Al Dupre, who lives on Borden Road. "It's a major, major thing."

Tina Holt, who sits on the board of the Herald Area Civic Association, also known as Stop the Rock, said the project would reduce the water table by eight inches per year without any additional population.

Herald isn't the only rural community with concerns about rock quarries in their neighborhood. A neighborhood southeast of Lockeford and south of Clements has had issues with KRC Aggregate, which expanded its plant in about 2000. The plant is northeast of Brandt and Clements roads.

After the expansion, there were suddenly a lot more trucks coming in and out of the KRC plant.

"Trucks were running people off the road," said Brandt Road resident Ed Steffani.

Since that time, KRC agreed to remain off Brandt Road, which is narrow and hilly in that area.

Meanwhile in Herald, residents say their latest setback is the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors' approval of zoning code amendments for surface mining applications countywide by a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Don Nottoli of Galt opposing.

"The amendments have lots of regulations or guidelines that make it a better interface between mining and residential area," county Senior Planner Michael Winter said.

The amendments don't specify Borden Junction, but Herald residents believe the action is pointed directly at them and the Tsakopoulos project.

They've paved a very slippery way of letting it occur," Holt said.

The Board of Supervisors, in essence, said "We're going to put your life in the toilet, and we don't care," Holt added.

While the Borden Ranch project could be approved with a conditional use permit, the Board of Supervisors has the ability to deny it if the board determines that it would be potentially detrimental to schools, residences, offices, churches, day-care centers, parks or golf courses, according to the amendments approved by the Board of Supervisors on June 11.

"We're having to remain vigilant," Holt said.

Tsakopoulos purchased the 8,400-acre ranch in property in 1993. Four years later, he was fined $500,000 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and required to restore four acres of wetlands after filling wetlands without a permit, according to documents from the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Tsakopoulos then sued the Corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that the Corps overstepped its bounds. He lost the case. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4, so the circuit court's decision stood.

The Herald Area Civic Association board meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Thursday of each months at Blue Gum Winery, 13637 Borden Road. For more information on the organization, call 217-4768, send an e-mail to HACA95638@aol.com or visit www.heraldcivic.org.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Feisty wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:20 AM:

" Well said essayjay; I would just point out that the deep ripping court case was on the Borden Ranch, The recent willful environmental abuses that you are speaking of by Tsakopoulos was abandoning his agreements to preserve watershed habitats on his current development on grantline, douglas, and sunrise roads. That was a court battle won by The Native Plant Society; This is the very issue of mistrust and abuse of power that Herald residents have about the Borden Ranch proposal. Thanks essayjay for keeping a watchful eye. "

Report Abuse

essayjay wrote on Jul 22, 2008 8:27 PM:

" Typical Angelo Tsakopoulos, he doesn't care what gets in the way of his money making schemes. This is the same man who went all the way to the Supreme Court when he was sued by the government for his destruction of vernal pools when he deep plowed enviromnetally sensitive areas off of Grantline Road a few years ago to put in thousands of acres of vineyards. Why the grapes you ask? Oh only to wait development for housing when he can pay off the people in charge of rezoning in Sacto County. This man is greedy and dishonest. Oh yeah and stinking wealthy too, a great combination. Tamany Hall right here in our little community. "

Report Abuse

Feisty wrote on Jul 20, 2008 4:19 PM:

" "Statistics show that truck traffic and mining reduce residential property values by 50 percent. Why should people living in a community be expected to endure such a loss? It cost over 600,000.00 a mile to construct roads. Rock trucks comprise 3 percent of traffic on roadways, and 12 percent of traffic fatalities. It takes a fully loaded rock truck,which weighs 40 tons, traveling at 55 mph a minimum of 300 feet to stop in an emergency, why should folks living not more than 50 feet from the centerline of the roadway risk life and limb to be outside their homes? Mining will use as much water on a weekly basis as a family of 4 uses in an entire year. Many are using Galt as a comparison for comments, let me point out that Herald is not Galt. We are a farming community and a very rural place. "

Report Abuse

Feisty wrote on Jul 20, 2008 4:05 PM:

" "Thanks for raising awareness about an issue that has the making for an environmental dissater. We can thank the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors'for their decision to appease the mining interest pressures to allow rezone and amended language to allow mining which leads to development and future sprawl south and east, beyond the Urban Service Boundary of the Consumnes River. This means water consumption we can't afford. Loss of farmland. Incremental increases in air pollution. 200 rock trucks a day is the equivilant of 12,000 cars added to the air pollution problem. The nox emmisions from soot cause permanent lung damage in the young and cause premature heart attacks in people under 50 years of age. The Herald community has been told to expect about 285 trucks a day. The recent County zoning amendments also allow the introduction of language stating:" if mining operations deem that a public need for rock and related materials is required for any projects, that a special use permit can be obtained and then a mine can haul out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of the community hardship it might cause. (continued) "

Report Abuse

middleman wrote on Jul 19, 2008 4:13 PM:

" Check out State Route 104 Transportation Concept Report 2006 by Cal Trans. The link is http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist3/departments/planning/tcr/draft_tcr_104_jan_2006.pdf
Note that this is a 20-year plan and that is states that the level of service will be the same in 20-years (E), there are NO plans for any major improvements (just bike lane stripping) and that an overpass upgrade is needed at Hwy-99 & SR-104 at a cost of $100 MILLION. I know for a fact, that the Galt City staff sent a comment letter in addressing their concerns (in 2006) about this 20-year plan, but note that no comments are included in this report. Interesting, I guess since the State makes the rules, they can do whatever they want when it comes to public comments. "

Report Abuse

Verity wrote on Jul 19, 2008 3:26 PM:

" While I too understand and sympathize with neighbors concerns, I also think it's unfortunate that the developer can't use his own property the way he wants to. 330 acres amounts to a mere .039% (or just under 4%) of the total 8400 acreage owned by Tsakopoulos. Once again, it's another example of NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) thinking that seems to pervade our country these days. "

Report Abuse

T&C wrote on Jul 19, 2008 3:21 PM:

" I think that super Walmart will be on Twin Cities Road, too. Galt is hurting for revenues now and that would be the ticket for them, like it or not. It would be the best location, with great freeway access from 99. I look for that area to be the next commercial growth area for Galt, before Elk Grove encroaches any further south. That'd scare me more than a 120 trucks or so a day. "

Report Abuse

gottago wrote on Jul 19, 2008 3:07 PM:

" Galt is going to be over run by Rock trucks on Twin Cities Road. Galt may have a new Wal-Mart on Twin Cities Rd. and a new High School very close to Twin Cities Rd. A new small shopping center is going in too. Galt has three stoplights now with a fourth one going on Twin Cities Rd.in about a month. This may help slow them down. How do we stop them? "

Report Abuse

dogs4you wrote on Jul 19, 2008 1:16 PM:

" spiker: I can understand the concerns of the people that live in the area, also a developer that wants to get his hands on the area. You and everyone else should know by now that a dozen lawyers and a judge will have the final word. Just like the building of the Wal-Mart in Lodi, the people of Lodi voted for it, a lawyer, the union supermarkets and a judge stopped the entire construction in its tracks, good luck with a bunch of high priced shysters and a judge in their pocket. "

Report Abuse

spiker wrote on Jul 19, 2008 8:30 AM:

" Thanks for the article. San Joaquin County residents should also be concerned because this will affect their water table and traffic as well. The Borden ranch sits right at the county line. I hope people from that county will get involved and help us STOP THE ROCK. Join us at our next meeting on July 24th. "

Report Abuse

Comments on this story are now closed.

Archives

Story Tools

Indexes