Laserfiche WebLink
Commission OK~ pit expansion <br />Homeowners oppose gravel project n~~r Baptist Road <br />ly Pam Zubeck/The Gazette commission also voted to <br />rory etlHor Bill Va&In require lL9 owners, brothels Robert and <br />ieatlllne M Rhonda Van Pelt Raymond Dellacroce, to reclaim the <br />Private property rights won oul over land; located north of fhe Springs near' <br />Ire quality-of-life demands of new coon- Baptist Road, west of Interstate 26. <br />y residents as the EI Paso County Homeowners throughout nelghbor- <br />Corm~tission allowed afar-reaching Ing subdlvisione fiercely opposed the <br />~ <br />axp:ursion of gravel mining on the Della- protect, citing the ugly scar created by <br />Croce Ranch. a pit opened in 1993. <br />Ina &1 vote Thursday, the commis They also questioned whether the <br />lion approved a 24year extension of land would be reclaimed properly. <br />the operating life of the gravel pit. Md The commissioners bowed to histo- <br />t will allow the six-acre pil to expand ry, tradition and the necessity of the <br />to 72 acres in l2 stages. gravel pits. <br /> _. <br />.~~ :, <br />'The <br />"We ell use `the benefits' of mWng; , <br />said Commissioner Jed Howells. "Colo- <br />redo was founded on mlrUng. It has a <br />history end heritage of mWng. We all <br />agree it's not particularly pretty. But we <br />woWd not be ~ vtng !n homes or driving <br />the streefs'!f It weren't part of our <br />The Dellacroce pit eupplles all the <br />gravel used as fotmdatlon base for <br />roads, homers and commercial buildings <br />m the counyT?s northern sector. ~ <br />Mining the:land for nearly 60. years, <br />the Dellacroce family had sought to <br />extend its permit beyond 2003. They <br />plan to expand the mined area from <br />about 14 acres to 72 acres. <br />The famiy promised not to mine <br />more then eight acres at a time and <br />reclaim the mined areas with grasses <br />and wildflowers. <br />"My father worked on this ranch <br />during the Depression for S10 a month," <br />Raymond Dellacroce said. Since then, <br />the famiy acquired the 700-acre parcel <br />and hag often been cited as a good <br />steward by state mining regulators, he <br />-_- -- - ---- See GRAVEL/NEWS3 <br />~^~ ~ . . <br />t <br />I <br />i <br /> <br />