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..... ......... .. ~-.~ --..,.~~..~ . ~gc ~_~n~i Marc R. Masterrer, Cih/ ECitor ~ditorinls Riled on the Redlands t is now likely that by next winter Grand Junction Pipe & Supply will begin mining gravel a stone's throw from the Colorado River midway along the Redlands. And. while Redlands residents are understandably angry with the unanimous approval of the project by the iriesa County Commissioners Tuesday night, it is evident the commissioners were limited in their options by an azgu- ably archaic state law which promotes mineral develop- ment. That 1973 law prohibits local governments from taking ' any action which interferes with the extraction of a com- mercialmineral deposit, including gravel. Courts have held that the law doesn't supersede local planning authority, but it still gives a priority to mineral extraction. ~ . In approving the gravel pit Tuesday, the Mesa County Commissioners imposed a list of decidedly substantive restrictions on the Soaring Eagle Gravel Pit, conditions company owner Ron Tipping readily embraced. Those .conditions include .limiting truck traffic to 55 round trips per day, allowing the rock crusher:to operate ,only dtu-irig four winter months, mandating that the haul road from the pit be paved to reduce dust and requiring . time•specific truck hauling to reduce traffic impact on ' school zones and Colorado Highway 340. '; ' The conditions aren't adequate to satisfy Red]ands folks who,-uirderstandably enough, simply wanted the .project stopped. But they aze meaningful efforts to reduce the . neighborhood impacts of the gravel pit just as long as the county is diligent in seeing that the stipulations contained in their conditional-use permit for the. mining project aze vigorously enforced. , : - Opponents of the gravel pit talked of several options available to them'I~esday evening, but none stands a great chance of success. One idea bandied about is a recall of the commissioners; but that would take support from through- outthe county,notjustthe Redlands. Another idea discussed is a lawsuit against Grand Junc- tion Pipe & Supply. But absent any evidence that the com- p~ny intentionally misled the county or the public about its proposal, its hard to see how a private business could be held liable for legally seeking a county permit. Also mentioned was a boycott of Grand Junction Pipe. .But contractors aze the main customers of the company's concrete business, not individuals. 1}nally, there is talk of a lawsuit against the commission- ers. But courts have always granted local governments a great deal of leeway in land-use issues, as long as their deci- sionsare not arbitrary. Still,.it's easy to appreciate the frustration of Redlands residents. Despite the near unanimity in opposition to the gravel pit, their elected representatives approved it. Per-. hops those residents should consider directing their ener- gies towazd changing the 2&yeaz-old state law which gives so much priority to mineral extraction. e t t t ~ O ~ 1 ="i.<_ C ~~~ i~i;`~ ~ W c U N N ~ Y ~ N O /~ J a d l7 \I Q m ~ „ f• a LL ~ L Q A t~F "f. m ~L s 5 e d x f 0 d d Y r `~ O E