Surface mine on Kagel Mountain

Post by **Ken Andrews** » Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:23 pm

There is a plan to put a surface mine on the face of Kagel Mountain as shown above. I would hate to see this happen. If you agree, please click here to send me an email message. From your responses, I'll collect a list of names and addresses to show opposition to this project. That email message is all I'm asking for, but keep reading for more of the details.

The "bench" just below the Volcano is owned by Ted Sakaida. He has filed a Notice of Preparation to mine sand and gravel here over the next seven years. Over that time, he'll dig out three million cubic yards, and send 115 dump truck loads of dirt down Hubbard street every day. The site will be covered with heavy machinery, including rock crushers, conveyor belts, diesel generators, bulldozers and loaders, and so on. The noise, dust, traffic, pollution, and general destruction of the mountain will obviously make the LZ, mountain top, and neighborhood a much less pleasant place to be. In the air over Kagel, our thermals will be marked with dirt and diesel fumes.

We can only speculate what will happen to that land (or what's left of it) seven years from now. The Notice of Preparation claims that it will be used as a nusery. However, a similar project by the same owner didn't last long as a nursery before he filed paperwork to convert it into a subdivision. Historically, gravel quarries like this also have a high probability of being expanded.

Our Sylmar neighbors have formed an organization, Citizens Against Strip Mining in the San Fernando Valley (CASM-SFV), to fight this project. They have created a flyer to distribute among the residents, and a signup sheet for those who are concerned and would like to be informed about future developments. If you click the link above to send me email, it will be equivalent to signing the form. Thank you.

JD · Post by JD » Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:56 pm

Thanks Ken for leading the charge. I have sent you my opposition email.
Jonathan

greblo · Post by **greblo** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:16 am

Guys and Girls,
This is absolutely crazy and the only way it can be stopped is with enough public outcry. Each and every hang glider and pg pilot needs to provide their name and contact number to be notified of when the scoping meeting is held. This will serve as notice to the planning department that there are a lot of people that don't wish to see the start of development in this part of the mountains.

Ken has made it simple, do it today.

OP · Post by OP » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:27 am

I work with 5 people who live in Sylmar. I have them circulating an email containing the links in Ken's post to their friends and neighbors. Hope it helps.

JBBenson · Post by **JBBenson** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:54 am

I recommend using hard-copy letters to delivery to local council members.

E-mails are not that effective.

Easy for you to send. Easy for them to ignore, too. Click.

Spitfire · Post by **Spitfire** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:15 pm

I tried to send the signup sheet but the email (info@casm-sfv.org) was rejected. Anyone have an alternative email?

Mike B

Post by **Ken Andrews** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:16 pm

A couple updates...

- Thank you to the 14 people who have sent me email messages so far. This forum has a lot more readers than that though, so please respond to me (or Joe Greblo or the CASM-SFV folks) if you don't want to fly in diesel fumes for the next seven years.

- If one email address or another doesn't work, please contact me and I promise to get your name and address submitted. I'm not hard to reach; one method is by email to: vpresident(AT)shga(DOT)com

- Our current goal is to build a large list of names and contact information for concerned Sylmar stakeholders. It doesn't matter whether this is done by email or paper or phone call. If we fail, I'm told this project might just get approved. If we succeed, then there will be public hearings and a chance to provide more substantial input. At that time, hard-copy letters will be valuable.

- This mining project will be discussed at the upcoming Sylmar Neighborhood Council meeting on Thursday, June 23, 6:30 PM, at Church of the Foothills, 13425 Glenoaks Blvd., Sylmar. There is a lot of other material on their agenda too; see: http://www.sylmarneighborhoodcouncil.or ... agenda.pdf

- If this project goes forward, it would ruin the hiking trail to the top of the mountain.

dhmartens · Post by **dhmartens** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:09 pm

Sakaida & Sons Trucking Accident February 1, 2011

These are the guys who would be operating the mine and driving 100's of trucks though neighborhoods dense with school children.

Driver of Big Rig Crash was Arrested For Suspicion of DUI

"..The semi trailer jackknifed and went up in the air, crashing down on top of a blue-green SUV. A fire erupted in the SUV, temporarily trapping the driver inside the crumpled vehicle....The unidentified driver of the SUV was extricated from the crushed vehicle and received serious injuries in the truck accident. The driver was stabilized at the crash site and then transported to a local hospital. The driver suffered burns to his arms and legs. The injuries were described as major but not life threatening."

A truck accident Tuesday morning, February 1, forced the closure of a major highway in Los Angeles County, California. One person was seriously injured in the early morning multi vehicle crash on the California 101 Freeway near the juncture with Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Studio City, CA. The accident area is located in the San Fernando Valley near the Los Angeles metro in the southwest section of the state.

Early Tuesday morning a truck driver, who has not been identified, was driving a semi trailer truck through southwest California. The semi was pulling two trailer sections filled with sand at the time of the truck accident. The mud flaps on the back trailer appear to have the logo for Sakaida & Sons Trucking, based in Reseda, CA

DUI Arrest Story link with video
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/o ... y-20110201

Another link of the story with news video
http://www.truckaccidentlaw.org/blog/38 ... #more-3869

Also I haven't seen any provisions to actually weigh these trucks to make sure they are not over loaded i.e. Weights and Measures department. What are the implications of the damage to the local roads?

Glenn · Post by **Glenn** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:26 pm

Are we gonna get to protest by chaining ourselves to something eventually. That's one of my goals in life.

By the looks of that photo, that driver is very lucky to be alive.

Just as a matter of the statistical odds, having that many truck trips though an area like this would seem to guaranteed a number serious accidents including fatalities. I'm sure such a calculation is possible and would be a pretty powerful argument.

OP · Post by OP » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:38 pm

Good find! A recent accident that makes that trucking co look pretty bad. Make sure to email that info to the CASM-SFV people.

jcflies · Post by **jcflies** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:27 pm

deleted as waste of time and effort

JD · Post by JD » Mon Jun 27, 2011 9:40 pm

jcflies wrote:i posted this link on facebook, css, and asked davis to post it on oz report. hope that helps. can someone do hanggliding.org?

JC -
I spoke w/ Greblo regarding our hillside issue and this information doesn't belong outside of our club as I understand it from our conversation. Unless a person is a member of the SHGA and flies here or lives in very close proximity to the proposed "mine" then they have no say in the matter.
Thanks, Jonathan

jcflies · Post by **jcflies** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 6:28 am

delete

JD · Post by JD » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:45 am

jcflies wrote:....Sorry for trying to help; won't do THAT again!

JC, you meant well and your heart's in the right place. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. My bad. Sadly, I have learned the hard way from past experience that what you and I may think and feel will benefit the club will often earn us the privilege of having our faces rubbed in shit by other members who take exception to our good intentions.

OP · Post by OP » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:13 pm

NMERider wrote:
jcflies wrote:i posted this link on facebook, css, and asked davis to post it on oz report. hope that helps. can someone do hanggliding.org?
JC -
I spoke w/ Greblo regarding our hillside issue and this information doesn't belong outside of our club as I understand it from our conversation. Unless a person is a member of the SHGA and flies here or lives in very close proximity to the proposed "mine" then they have no say in the matter.
Thanks, Jonathan

I disagree. We should post this to all pilots that occasionally fly our site, or might fly our site in the future. I couldn't see it hurting if it was posted on the org or Oz. I say spread the word!

JD · Post by JD » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:35 pm

OP wrote:.....I disagree. We should post this to all pilots that occasionally fly our site, or might fly our site in the future. I couldn't see it hurting if it was posted on the org or Oz. I say spread the word!

Please talk to Greblo first.

JBBenson · Post by **JBBenson** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:56 pm

When it comes to the local community, Joe Greblo is very, very savvy, both politically and tactically. Do what he says.

Forget stupid Facebook and other idiotic "social media sites".

They are beyond brainless when it comes to anything that requires tact, restraint, and a subtle and a measured response.

OP · Post by OP » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:37 pm

NME and JB. You have a good point. Let's see what Greblo says.

It seems to me that an misinformed community which has a gross caricature of the mine project from a Facebook campaign is exactly what we need.

From this:

To this:

and this:

JD · Post by JD » Tue Jun 28, 2011 3:54 pm

OP wrote:....It seems to me that an misinformed community which has a gross caricature of the mine project from a Facebook campaign is exactly what we need...

I'm nominating you as our next club president.

greblo · Post by **greblo** » Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:31 pm

OP,
I love your visual contributions to this effort. I hope you and Doug keep the photos coming.
As far a the Oz Report or hg.org is concerned, there is no harm in letters being written to express opposition, so I agree with Orian. But we haven't requested letters and there is not yet a Draft EIR to comment on. What we've requested so far is a little different.

At the moment, the CASM-SFV group is acquiring names and contact info from "stakeholders" who the county of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning will be obligated to send notices of an upcoming "scoping meeting".

This public meeting will gather public input and provide the department with additional community concerns that they may force the developer to address in his Environmental Impact Report.

As I witnessed in the Oz Report, everyone wants to chime in and give their 2 cents, even if they have little personal interest in the matter. If you want to devote the time to explaining the possible effects of this mining operation, including the future effects on the development of our mountains and foothills, the no harm done, but the county won't invite these people to the scoping meeting regardless of their comments.

What we need is a real serious turnout at any and all public meetings on this project. It's been made clear to me that this mine is likley to happen if the citizens don't make it very, very clear that they will not tolerate it.

This will become even more important if the project is approved and we appeal the decision to the County Board of Supervisors.

By the way, when the time comes, will you head up the Facebook campaign?

Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

Surface mine on Kagel Mountain

Surface mine on Kagel Mountain

A couple updates on Sakaida mining