19-03-2025
Community planning group recommends denial of Cottonwood Sand Mine Project
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The Valle de Oro Community Planning Group voted unanimously to recommend a denial of the Cottonwood Sand Mine Project to the San Diego County Planning Commission.
'We're here tonight to call action to the community, once again, and fight this thing right to the end,' said Jamul resident Barry Jantz.
Residents from Rancho San Diego and the surrounding areas crowded the meeting Tuesday evening, eager to oppose the Cottonwood Sand Mine Project. No public speakers were in favor of the project.
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The local planning group unanimously decided on sending a letter to the county, recommending denying the project.
'There's a reason that the County of San Diego designated it as open area for recreation,' said local Brian Lorenz. 'They didn't designate it as open area for creating air and noise pollution.'
Hundreds of residents have pushed back for more than six years since the sand mine was first proposed. The project involves converting 214 acres of the existing Cottonwood Golf Club property into a 10-year sand mining operation, with an additional two years of clean up and restoring the land.
The laundry list of concerns includes the pollution of the environment, noise, traffic, and health as homes and a school border the property.
'If you start to scrape the dirt, especially on a river bed, you're going to find silica and you know the kinds of things that create valley fever, the fungus that creates valley fever,' said concerned resident Elizabeth Urquhart.
Representatives for the project, proposed by Michael Schlesinger, declined an interview but provided the following statement:
'The Cottonwood Proposal would ultimately transform a defunct golf course property into 200 acres of permanent, preserved open space for the community to enjoy. In the near-term, it would provide critically-needed sand supplies for housing and infrastructure projects through a phased approach that reduces community concerns around views. Creating a local sand supply at Cottonwood is a win for the San Diego region because it would reduce the increased costs and environmental damage caused by trucking sand in from outside the region and Mexico.'
Now, the attention turns to the County Planning Commission as it will have the power to approve or deny this project at a meeting on the morning of April 18.
Whether the project is approved or denied, there will likely be an appeal. At that point, the Cottonwood Sand Mine Project would head to the County Board of Supervisors for a final vote.
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