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Stop the Trucks hosting Libbey Bowl show Oct. 3
By Sondra Murphy

     Local activists trying to limit mine transportation through the Ojai Valley have decided to fight gravel with rock. And roll.

     In anticipation of its next round of legal battles, the Stop the Trucks Coalition is throwing a benefit concert in Libbey Park the first weekend in October.
Many have noticed that Stop the Trucks has been a bit quiet since the Ozena Rock and Gravel Mine scoping meeting back in May that packed Chaparral Auditorium. “It’s the calm before the storm,” said Michael Shapiro, coalition chairman.

     “We had a scoping meeting several months ago and that was our opportunity to express to the county specific concerns we had about (California Environmental Quality Act) law, and others as well,” said Shapiro. “The Environmental Impact Report, we understand, is about to be reviewed by an independent environmental consultant chosen by the county .… then it will be submitted before the Ventura Planning Commission and they will probably approve it and then it will go before the Board of Supervisors.”

     Shapiro estimated that at the beginning of 2010, Ojai will have the chance to go over the report and attorneys and air and traffic consultants, “to point out areas we are convinced can never be mitigated,” he said, adding this will generate legal expenses. ‘Rock the Trucks’ is one way to buffer our war chest,” Shapiro said.
He added that the coalition is not against the trucking industry, but strives to limit the number of gravel trucks running through the Ojai Valley.

     “People ask, ‘Where do you get 800 trucks a day?’ There are four mines up there right now and a potential fifth. They know they could have approached Ojai as an industry, but they decided to hit us one at a time so we would have to spend legal fees one mine at a time. Diamond Rock Mine asked for 200 trips a day. Ozena is asking for 200 a day. If all these mines get approved one mine at a time, then 800 is actually accurate.”

     Shapiro feels confident his experience combating the Weldon Canyon dump plans left him qualified to counter the processes associated with such industrial efforts. “To have these gravel trucks plowing through Ojai 24-7 will transform it from the bucolic town whose economy flourishes on arts, education and tourism and turn Ojai into a de facto industrial trucking zone more resembling Mojave, Palmdale or San Bernardino,” said Shapiro. “Years ago, our city founders agreed to never allow industry in. This is the latest monumental fight for Ojai as we know it and the ‘Rock the Trucks’ benefit concert is just our way to try and fund that fight.”

     The ‘Rock the Trucks’ concert is co-sponsored by the Ojai Valley Green Coalition and scheduled for Oct. 3 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Libbey Bowl.

     The talent includes many local artists, plus special guest star Keith Carradine. Scheduled to perform are Jonathan McEuen with Jesse Sibenberg and Teddi Jack, Julie Christensen, Marty Grebb with Bob Glaub, B.B. Chung King and Gary Mallaber, The Jane Does, Lights — a Journey tribute band — and more surprise special guests are promised.

Lawn seating costs $25; premier seating costs $35; and VIP seating in the first three rows costs $50.
For more information or to order tickets, call 646-7980 or visit rockthetrucks.com.

• The JANE DOES
  
• MARTY GREBB with BOB GLAUB , B.B. CHUNG KING ,
  and GARY MALLABER
  
• LIGHTS – THE PREMIERE TRIBUTE BAND TO JOURNEY
  
• JONATHAN McEUEN , TEDDY JACK, and JESSE SIEBENBERG
  
• JULIE CHRISTENSEN
  
• ...and special guest star KEITH CARRADINE

Scoping Meeting Follow-Up

Kim Rodriguez, Director
Ventura County Resource Management Agency, Planning Division
800 South Victoria Ave., L#1740
Ventura, CA 93009
(Fax: 805-654-2509)

cc: Matt Carroll; Dan Klemann; Ojai Stop The Trucks Coalition

Dear Kim Rodriguez:

     We would like to again reiterate our thanks and appreciation for holding both a Scoping Meeting in Ojai and for also meeting with the Executive Committee for the Stop the Trucks Coalition several weeks earlier.

     It is our earnest hope that the expressions of concern made by the citizens of the Ojai Valley in regards the prospects of a permit renewal for the Ozena Valley Ranch gravel mine were both appropriate in regards the legal issues and the manner and tone with which they were communicated to the Planning Division.

     As part of our follow up to that meeting there are a number of questions, issues and additional concerns that we would like to bring to your attention and hopefully gain your office's response.

     1) Can you,  

          A) confirm that the conversation between Dan Klemann and one of our executive committee members, reflects the most current and accurate information regarding the timetable going forward? And 

          B) will you formally notify "Stop The Trucks" precisely when the work plan noted below is received from the consultants and presented to the Board of Supervisors?

     "Dan Klemann at the Planning Division estimated that we won't see the draft EIR until February 2010 at the earliest. They have forwarded all the comments to the consultant, then the consultant puts together a work plan based on those comments, forwards the work plan to the County and the applicant for review, changes are made, then the County drafts a contract that must be approved by the Board. Then work on the draft EIR begins, which takes several months itself."

     2) Stop the Trucks did a review of the County's one month random sample of weigh tickets and we have some additional concerns on this topic as well.

     Although we had originally hoped for the County to review one full year (2008) of weigh tickets, we were informed that County staff would only pick a month at random. We then suggested that the County look at February or March of 2008 when the trucks were running full steam. Instead the County picked November 15th through December 15th when traffic was at a seemingly all time low due to the recession, bad weather and the holidays.

     Although truck traffic was indeed very low, what we found was still very disturbing. 

     First, the sample was missing all tickets from November 15th through 3:00pm on November 18th. Given daily averages of around 15 trucks total a day, that would amount to about 45 missing tickets from those days.

     Next, after reviewing all of the additional documents turned over to the Coalition, we found that from November 18th through December 15th, there are still about 13 tickets completely missing from the sequence. The combined total of missing tickets amounts to about 20% of all tickets for the month, a fairly significant percentage.

     Third, and most significant, of the thirty-three (33) trucks that supposedly came and went through the Ojai Valley, twenty-two (22) were most likely in violation of the time restraints for the Ojai Restricted Zone as described by the County. That amounts to 2/3 of all trips that were in violation. Most of these violations were on the first northbound trips of the day which County staff have so far refused to consider as violations because they claim there is insufficient evidence on the weigh tickets to determine where they came from or where they were going.

     Please bear in mind though that despite the fact that all of the weigh tickets list Ojai as the point of origin, not a single double hopper gravel truck makes it's home overnight in the Ojai Valley. All of these trucks come from somewhere else, be it Oak View, Ventura, Oxnard, etc. And all of them have to travel through the County's restricted zone in order to reach the mine and then return to Ozena. By any reasonable standard these would all clearly be seen as probable violations.

     Although we appreciate the fact that Dan Klemann has recently instructed the operators to clearly identify both the addresses from which the trucks depart from and head to, we sincerely believe that this new instruction should not give the operators and drivers yet another reason to avoid bearing the responsibility for this potential violations during November and December of last year. 

     We are asking the Planning Division to re-inspect these weigh ticket and act in a judicious manner in regards potential violations. 


     3) The "Stop the Trucks" coalition and our legal representatives appreciate the depth and breadth of our concerns over the draft EIR - nevertheless - we continue to be deeply troubled over what we suspect are continuing and ongoing violations of the current and "expired" CUP regarding truck traveling through the Ojai restricted zone during restricted times. Given that the County has a complaint based review and monitoring system, we are once more compelled to call your attention to several ongoing and potentially serious permit violations of the existing EIR that need to be addressed and reviewed by County staff. 

     During the two weeks of June 8th-13th and June 15th-21st, a fleet of between five to seven double hopper, bottom dumping trucks began making multiple runs every day up and down Route 33. 

     During those two weeks these trucks began running up Route 33 and through the Ojai Restricted Zone (as defined by the County) as early as 3:30am. They also consistently rolled through the zone on each day between the 7:00am to 9:00am black out time period and were often seen returning down Route 33 after the 3:00pm black out period. The vehicles were also observed traveling not only through the zone and up the mountain, but also coming southbound through the zone on round trips to Oxnard on the 101.

     Not only were these vehicles in possible violation of permit restrictions, the trucks used also give rise to several concerns regarding public safety. 

     All of the double hopper, bottom dumping trucks (which were run by several different independent trucking firms) were extremely old, banged up and rusted out. (Very different from the new fleet used by Valley Bulk in the past). 

     Trucks of this age are dangerous. They may have older and more polluting engines; potentially unsafe brakes; have a greater tendency to leak gravel onto the highways due to rust, dings and gaps in their seals; and all of them, at 44 feet in length from king pin to rear axle exceed the Route 33 Road Advisory that recommends no trucks over 30 feet from king pin to rear axle travel up and over the mountains of the Los Padres Forest.

     We are requesting that the County pull the weigh tickets for those two weeks for a full review and that those tickets be shared publicly with the Stop the Trucks Coalition.

Thank you,

Howard Smith, Vice Chair
Ojai Stop the Trucks Coalition

On Page 13, of C.U.P. 5170, Condition 30, (Prevention of Construction Material Spillage) states:

 
     We fully believe that any truck coming from Ozena must comply with the C.U.P. as written.

C) The existing C.U.P. for Ozena indicates that all vehicles must follow Caltrans and the State of California Advisory Guidelines in regards truck length (King Pin To Rear Axle) on rural highways. The 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena incorrectly suggests that this length for Route 33 is 38 feet. In fact, as can be seen from the attached photo, the posted length at the start of Maricopa Highway is actually only 30 feet. 

     According to Brent Beall, manufacturer of the bottom dump trailers that Valley Bulk, Ortiz and other companies use, the measurement from the King Pin of the semi to center of the rear axle of the pull trailer is 535". This translates into 44.4 feet.

     If this is correct, then it would appear that the trailers used by Ortiz, Valley Bulk and other bottom dumpers for all of these years on the Ozena runs over the mountains through Ojai would be in violation not only of the 30 foot advisory posted by CalTrans but also of the 38-foot length incorrectly listed in the 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena. 

D) All of the sightings and complaints below occurred in the narrow definition of the Ojai restricted as was recently promulgated by the Planning Director in a map she created in October of 2008. (see attached) As we discussed at our recent meeting earlier this month with County officials, the Coalition does not accept this narrow interpretation and feels that the discretionary judgment and arcane interpretation of the English language used by County officials to make this claim runs contrary to interests of the public, as it effectively removes safety protections from Nordhoff High School, the Ojai Hospital, a church preschool, our main shopping center at the "Y", several senior citizen housing complexes and the community of Casitas Springs -- a neighborhood so destroyed by traffic that they have been begging for a Route 33 by-pass for years.

     In the records turned over to us in response to our second Public Records Requests, we finally learned the source of this narrow re-definition of the restricted zone, a map created by none other than John Hecht, the agent for Ozena, and handed out to drivers last year. (see attached) As Michael Shapiro, our Chairman, noted in regards weigh tickets, allowing Ozena to create this most absurd definition that runs contrary to the interests of public safety and health is a bit like "letting the fox guard the hen house."

E) We believe that the question of whether or not Ozena in regards their C.U.P. has been either , “(A),” a good corporate citizen or, “(B),” they have not been good citizens, can easily be answered by one simple and absolute documentary test of Weigh Tickets. 

     However, in a meeting last July between Matt Carroll and a representative of the Coalition in which we complained about possible violations, the Deputy CEO, indicated that he thought there had only been few recent complaints about Ozena. Our representative disagreed and said that these violations were occurring on a daily basis and should be looked into.

     Had the County Planning Division taken that complaint seriously last summer and had become proactive about investigating Ozena, rather than becoming defensive, there would be no need for "Stop The Trucks" to resort to filing individual complaints.

     Ozena would have either been proven to be “(A),” a good corporate citizen or, “(B),” not a good citizen. All of the time, effort and expense generated by all parties since then, would have been completely unnecessary had the Planning Division taken a "proactive" effort to ascertain the truth.

     We again urge the Planning Division to take the necessary - and well justified - steps to obtain a full year of Ozena Weigh Tickets and work cooperatively with the public to find the truth. 

F) After reviewing the documents Stop the Trucks received from the County several weeks ago, we found:

     - Of the thirty-seven (37) specific days that we have made complaints about and requested investigations, the County has only provided us Weigh Tickets for sixteen (16) of those days. Twenty-one (21) days are missing.

     - The County also failed to enclose any weight tickets from their supposed "One Month" sample from 2008. At six (6) days a week, that is at least another twenty-four (24) weigh tickets they have failed to turn over. This remains a violation of the Public Records guidelines.

     - Of the sixteen (16) days for which they did send weigh tickets, eight (8) days have probably violations, including Bob Walker's complaint of last year.

     - Eight (8) of sixteen (16) days show violations fifty percent (50%) of the time. Of the days that did show violations, most were multiple for that day and constituted a majority of the trips through Ojai.

     In other words, of fifty (51) potential days to review, the County has only provided us with seven (7) that show no violations. That's 14% with no violations and  86% either missing or showing probable violations.

     How is it that the Planning Division keeps excusing Ozena's violations as "minor?"

G) In response to our complaints, John Hecht, the agent for Ozena, provided a Weighmaster Certificate for Alliance but failed to provide one for Tony Virgilio. We have documentation from the state that indicates Mr. Vigilio's certificate may have lapsed for several months prior to Alliance taking over the operation. If this is true, it would indicate serious gap in the credibility of any record keeping by Ozena in regards Weigh Tickets. We challenge Ozena to offer physical proof that Mr. Virgilio's weighmaster license was in full compliance between June of 2008 and October of 2008.

Additional Complaints:

#60: On March 9, 2008 an uncovered turquoise Swader double hopper truck was seen cutting east through El Roblar on it's way to Route 33 south. Vehicles of that size are prohibited on El Roblar.

#61: On March 11, 2009, a Swader double hopper truck was seen entering in the restricted zone heading north at 7:17 am, a possible time violation.

#62: On March 13, 2009, a Swader double hopper truck was seen entering the restricted zone heading south at 3:45 pm, another possible time violation.

#63: On March 14, 2009, an uncovered Swader double hopper truck was seen entering the restricted zone heading north at 8:30 am and south at 10:30 am. More possible time violations.

#64: On March 16, 2009, a Swader double hopper truck was seen entering in the restricted zone heading north at 7:33 am, a possible time violation.

#65: On March 17, 2009, a Swader double hopper truck was seen entering in the restricted zone heading south at 3:15 pm, another possible time violation.

#66: On March 18, 2009, three double hopper trucks passed through the restricted zone and headed north towards the mines between 4:00 am and 4:30 am. Later that same day two double hopper trucks were seen entering the restricted zone heading south at 3:45 pm. All are possible time violation.

#67: On March 19, 2009 an uncovered Lawson double hopper truck was seen speeding as it passed the high school and then entered the zone at 1:15 pm, another possible coverage violation.

#68: On March 20, 2009, four double hopper trucks passed through the restricted zone and headed north towards the mines between 3:45 am and 4:45 am. Later two of those double hopper trucks were seen re-entering the restricted zone from the north fully loaded and uncovered between 7:10 am and 7:20 am. The trucks then traveled all the way down the 33 and 101 to Oxnard. Later that same day two more uncovered double hoppers were reported traveling south through the restricted zone at 1:30 pm. We have possible multiple time and coverage violations for this day. 

#69: On March 23, 2009, two double hopper trucks passed through the restricted zone and headed north towards the mines between 5:00 am and 5:15 am. Two double hopper trucks, one of which was an Ortiz bottom dumping style, passed through the restricted zone and headed north towards the mines at 7:15 am. All of these would be time violations as well as possible king pin advisory violations. 

#70: On March 24, 2009, two fully loaded and uncovered double hopper trucks coming south at 7:55 am in the morning drove past the high school and turned south onto Route 33 and then entered the restricted zone. The lead truck (see photos attached) was a turquoise Swader double hopper. The second truck was a white Neilson double. The trucks were tracked going down the 33. They turned south onto the 101 south bound and followed all the way to Oxnard. These were not "local deliveries," and would be clear time violations.

#71: Also on March 24, 2009 at the above vehicles were spotted south bound, three north bound double hoppers vehicles were also seen entering the zone. One - at 8:00 am - was the same frequently seen Ortiz bottom dumper, white with green trim, that was spun out in an accident on upper 33 several years ago. The second was a dark blue double from Lawson at 8:10 am and the third was a Swader at 8:20 am. All would be time violations as well as a possible king pin violation.

#72: On March 25, 2009, three double hoppers violated the zone heading north between 4:30 am and 5:00 am. At 6:04 pm that evening, a fully loaded Swader double hopper may have also violated the zone heading south. 

#73: On March 26, 2009, a white double hopper was spotted violating the zone heading north at 4:35 am and the same vehicle was spotted entering the zone heading south two hours later at 6:40 am. That same afternoon another fully loaded and uncovered white double hopper was spotted going south in the zone at 3:27 pm. A Swader double hopper was also spotted in the zone going south at 3:43 pm. More time violations.

Thank you for reviewing these complaints

Sincerely,

Howard Smith, Vice Chair
Stop The Trucks

#55: On Friday, February 27, 2009, a white double hopper truck from Swader left the north end of the restricted zone just after 1:00pm (okay) but them came back down the mountain fully loaded and entered the restricted zone at 3:20 pm. If this truck had been coming form Ozena, this would be another probably violation.

#56: On Monday, March 2, 2009 a red double hopper passed through the zone heading north at 7:05 am. At 7:15 am another Swader double hopper entered the southern end of the restricted zone heading north towards Ozena. At 4:05 pm yet another Swader double hopper was spotted going south through the zone while uncovered. If these trucks here traveling to and form Ozena, this trips would also be potential violations.

#57: On Thursday March 5, 2009 a Swader double hopper truck was spotted headed south bound at 3:30 pm in the restricted zone. Yet another possible violation... 

#58: On Monday, March 9, 2009, there were multiple reports of bottom dumping double hoppers beginning to move through the restricted zone and on up the mountain toward Ozena as early as 3:30 am!!! Several of the trucks spotted were from Ortiz trucking and several others were familiar "rust buckets' -- beat up old double hoppers frequently seen traveling between the mountains, Ojai and Oxnard on Route 33 and the 101 to Vineyard.

#59: On Tuesday, March 10, 2009 trucks again were noted passing north through the restricted zone and elsewhere on 33 in the Ojai Valley heading north. At 7:10 am an Ortiz bottom dumper double hopper was spotted entering the restricted zone form the north fully loaded and uncovered. Just a little over an hour later at 8:05 am the same Ortiz truck was spotted empty running north through the zone.

Between 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm, three more of these bottom dumpers - all of which probably violate the Route 33 "King Pin to Rear Axle" advisory of 30 feet - were spotted going south through the restricted zone while fully loaded and uncovered.

The existing C.U.P. for Ozena indicates that all vehicles must follow Caltrans and the State of California Advisory Guidelines in regards truck length (King Pin To Rear Axle) on rural highways. The 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena incorrectly suggests that this length for Route 33 is 38 feet. In fact, as can be seen from the attached photo, the posted length at the start of Maricopa Highway is actually only 30 feet. 

According to Brent Beall, manufacturer of the bottom dump trailers that Valley Bulk and other companies use, the measurement from the King Pin of the semi to center of the rear axle of the pull trailer is 535". This translates into 44.4 feet.

If this is correct, then it would appear that the trailers used by Ortiz and other bottom dumpers for all of these years on the Ozena runs over the mountains through Ojai would be in violation not only of the 30 foot advisory posted by Caltrans but also of the 38 foot length incorrectly listed in the 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena. 535 inches translates into 44.4 feet.

If any of these vehicles had been coming or going to Ozena, their trips would constitute yet additional potential violations. 


Sincerely,

Howard Smith, Vice Chair
Stop the Trucks

     Although these errors are considered violations in an of themselves, there are often indicative of a much greater violations: Other than the fact it is physically impossible to load and weigh five 80,000 pound trucks in two minutes, it may well be tickets 13159 through 13163 were all held and stamped independent of the actually weighing and loading time, rendering them unacceptable evidence. We have raised this question before in 2007 and 2008 and no one in Planning ever came up with an acceptable rational for this behavior. 

3. Handwritten tickets are also completely unacceptable because weights and hours can be completely manipulated at will. Because the information on these tickets appears to be fungable, we also consider it highly questionable that the Planning Division is going back to Ozena and/or Alliance and/or West Coast Environmental & Engineering for evidence of compliace. Given that the mine operator and their agent, West Coast Environmental & Engineering (aka John Hecht) have much at stake in possibly concealing any suspected violations, we would insist that the only acceptable copies weigh tickets are those that come directly from the state office of Weights and Measures

     Again your examination only reinforces our point: You have no ability to monitor this C.U.P.


4. The existing C.U.P. for Ozena indicates that all vehicles must follow Caltrans and the State of California Advisory Guidelines in regards truck length (King Pin To Rear Axle) on rural highways. The 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena incorrectly suggests that this length for Route 33 is 38 feet. In fact, as can be seen from the attached photo, the posted length at the start of Maricopa Highway is actually only 30 feet. 

     According to Brent Beall, manufacturer of the bottom dump trailers that Valley Bulk and other companies use, the measurement from the King Pin of the semi to center of the rear axle of the pull trailer is 535". This translates into 44.4 feet.

     If this is correct, then it would appear that the trailers used by Valley Bulk and other bottom dumpers for all of these years on the Ozena runs over the mountains through Ojai would be in violation not only of the 30 foot advisory posted by Caltrans but also of the 38 foot length incorrectly listed in the 2001 C.U.P. for Ozena. 535 inches translates into 44.4 feet.

     In other words, potentially every single Valley Bulk double hopper in use for deliveries from the Ozena mine has been in possible violation of the state highway standards for safety by almost 50%! This would potentially include each and every Valley Bulk truck in Bob Walker's February 2008 complaint. 

     According to the C.U.P., Ozena must insure that all vehicles they laod are safe for the roads they will use.


     It is little wonder that accidents such as these pictured below have occurred with such alarming frequency:

     In categorically rejecting your response, the Stop the Trucks Coalition also formally requests that the Planning Division immediate take the necessary steps to suspend the Ozena C.U.P. because of a total lack of ability of the county to monitor this operation and because of numerous possible violations of the existing C.U.P.


Sincerely,
Howard Smith, Vice Chair
Stop the Trucks


cc: Kim Rodriguez, and Carole Aragon, Board of Supervisors, Matt Carroll, Marty Robinson

Formal Ozena trucking complaint of February 8, 2008

Ojai, CA. 93023

February 13, 2008

Carole Aragon
Patrick Richard, Acting Director
County of Ventura
Planning Division 
800 South Victoria Ave.
Ventura, CA 93009

Dear Carole and Patrick:

     I am sending you this formal complaint in response to seven trucks that I witnessed on February 8, 2008 violating Ozena Sand and Gravel Mine's hauling time restrictions. 

     At 8:40 A.M. two Southbound Swader trucks hauling 3/8" gravel passed in front of my house. That would put those trucks in the Ojai City limits during the restricted time. Also, I witnessed five Northbound, empty, Valley Bulk trucks in front of my house starting at 8:45 A.M. This would place the trucks passing through the Ojai Valley during the restricted times. The first Valley Bulk truck returned Southbound loaded with washed concrete sand at 11:03 A.M.and the second truck at 11:06 A.M. 

     The roads had been closed due to the recent snows. As soon as they were open, the trucks went right back to their old habits.

Sincerely,

 Bob Walker.

Diesel Fuel spills into Creek after Truck Crash

From Ventura County Star staff reports
Originally published 9:29 a.m., January 30, 2009
Updated 9:29 a.m., January 30, 2009 

     An estimated 1,000 gallons of fuel spilled into a creek in the Los Padres National Forest this morning after a truck hauling diesel crashed on Highway 33, authorities said.  

     The crash was reported about 5 a.m. near Cherry Creek Circle in the Lockwood Valley area, according to the California Highway Patrol. The truck, which was hauling diesel fuel, was abandoned after the crash, said Officer Matt Winter of the Ventura CHP.  The highway patrol is investigating the crash and looking into the possibility the truck may have been hauling fuel improperly, Winter said.

     Ventura County firefighters responded to the scene and found an estimated 1,700 gallons of spilled fuel, about 1,000 gallons of which spilled into a nearby creek, fire department officials said.  The fire department’s hazardous materials team responded to the scene.  Fire department and highway patrol officials remained on scene at 9 a.m.  
Officials from the California Department of Fish and Game were also on their way to the crash site this morning.

Please find attached communication from the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council concerning issues surrounding enforcement of conditions of approval for the Ozena Valley Ranch Mining CUP. 

Thank you, 
Russ Baggerly

MAC President.

CLICK HERE to see or download the document, in .pdf format.

#30: As a result of evidence presented during the recent "Virgilio Vs Ventura County" we are also resubmitting our complaint of July 2008, regarding massive violations of Condition 72 during the months of July and August 2007, which was originally delivered to Deputy County CEO Matt Carroll 

     Lawyers for the county apparently made such a good case in noting both the apparent violations of the C.U.P. by Ozena and the failure of the Planning Division to enforce the guidelines that Judge Reiser, in a footnote, went so far as to state that, "The initial permit allows for a five-year extension if the Planning Director, assuming, 'all conditions have been continuously complied with' by petitioners, authorizes such continued use. Since the County has already found permit violations; it might well be an abuse for the Planning Director to authorize such an extension." 

     In a letter to John Hecht, the agent for Ozena, in December of 2007, the Planning Director made an arbitrary decision that Ozena would not be responsible for "past" violations. 

     It makes as much sense for the Planning Director to dismiss possible "past violations" as it would for the District Attorney to dismiss murder charges as the murder happened in the past.

     How can the public and the Coalition consider the Planning Director's decision to not consider past violations anything but a possible abuse of her discretion. 

     Furthermore, given the extremely high percentages of daily violations of the permit schedule that were found in a two month sampling of data from 2007 by both the County's Deputy CEO and the Coalition, how was the agency was able to determine that the mine operators had been in continuous compliance? The Coalition's review alone noted that possibly 40% of all trips and 55% of trips through Ojai were in violation.

     Were there an appropriate, timely and proper investigation of the alleged violations, it can easily be argued that the extension for Ozena would have already been terminated.

# 31A through #31K: 

     The Coalition has made and repeatedly referenced several public records requests for all weigh tickets from Ozena. We have reported unconfirmed allegations that weigh tickets may or may not have been falsified or written up by hand. To date, the Planning Division has failed to turn over any of these weigh tickets, which, in and of itself could be considered a clear a violation of state law and public policy. 

     Furthermore, the Planning Division has failed to respond according to the guidelines established in Section 13, including, but not limited to those of timeliness.

     Because of that failure to respond under Section 13 and because of the total failure of the Planning Division to provide any physical evidence whatsoever supporting the Planning Director's claim on page two, paragraph three of her January 14, 2009 letter to the "Stop the Trucks" Coalition, we are resubmitting all of these complaints From Stop the Trucks from February 8, 2008 through January 6, 2009 (below) and supporting them with further information or clarifications when available. 

     Given this history, there is simply no way any intelligent citizen of Ventura County could credibly accept any analysis of records by the Planning Division without the very physical evidence the Division appears to be adamant about withholding from public scrutiny.

     In her letter of January 14th, the Planning Director wrote, "It cannot be concluded that if a truck is observed in Ojai then it traveled to or from the Ozena mine." In other words, short of a competent analysis of weigh tickets, the Planning Division has absolutely no ability to monitor C.U.P. compliance. Such monitoring is a fundamental requirement of CEQA, with out which no permit should be granted, much less extended. 

#31A: On January 2, 2009, a white double hopper gravel truck came south fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp down Route 33 and into the Ojai restricted zone at 3:23 pm. If this vehicle had been coming from Ozena, that would constitute yet another potential violation.

#31B: Today, January 6, 2009, a white double hopper gravel truck with a white cab with brown trim came south, also fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp, on Route 33 into the Ojai restricted zone, past the high school and hospital and then turned left at the "y" and headed through downtown Ojai at 7:53 am. Five minutes later, a Swader double hopper came north up 33 through the restricted zone and then drove past the high school at 7:58 am. 

     Later that same day, a Swader double hopper gravel truck entered the Ojai restricted zone heading south fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp on Route 33 at 3:08 pm and continued south all the way through Casitas Springs.

     If these trucks were coming from Ozena, these too would constitute violations.


#31C: On Tuesday, December 30, 2008 beginning at around 4:25 pm one of our Coalition members spotted a light blue double hopper gravel truck, possibly one from Swader, passing through the restricted zone and then through the "Y" at Ojai, all the while heading north on Route 33. The truck continued north past the high school and hospital. The spotter trailed the truck for a considerable length of time as it proceeded up Maricopa Highway and towards Ozena. 

#31D: On December 26, 2008, Friday, the day after Christmas, two double hopper gravel trucks came south with full loads that were uncovered and/or without a tarp on Route 33 and past by the Ojai Hospital and Nordhoff High School at 3:45 pm. They continued south through the restricted zone. If they were coming from Ozena, that would be yet another violation of the C.U.P. 

#31E: This morning, December 18, 2008, and only hours after Route 33 was cleared of snow and re-opened to traffic, a dark blue, double hopper truck from Pride Trucking passed north through the restricted zone and then by Nordhoff High School just as students were arriving. This was around 7:37 am, in apparent violation of the allowed hours of travel through the Ojai Valley.

#31F: On December 10, 2008 at about 4:40 am a double hopper truck apparently passed through the restricted zone then by the hospital & high school heading north toward Ozena well before allowable hours. 

Later that same morning what appeared to be the same vehicle, a light blue truck from Swader (fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp) heading south through the restricted zone then left the restricted zone near Casitas Springs at about 7:10 am. 

This afternoon, at precisely 3:24 pm two more double hopper, both white in color, came south fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp) from the direction of Ozena and again passed by the high school and hospital and then south through the restricted zone. If correct, all of these would have be potential violations.

#31G: On Tuesday, December 9, 2008, between 8:22 am and 8:25 am we spotted three double hopper gravel trucks apparently violating the Ozena C.U.P. by heading north on Route 33 in the Ojai Valley restricted zone. 

That same afternoon we spotted three more double hopper trucks, two of which were from Swader, apparently violating the C.U.P. by traveling south bound (fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp) through the Ojai restricted zone between 3:21 pm and 3:50 pm, which would, once again, put them right in front of Nordhoff High School as students are leaving for the day.

#31H: On Monday, December 8, 2008 I spotted two more Swader double hopper gravel trucks apparently violating the C.U.P. by traveling south bound fully loaded but uncovered through the Ojai restricted zone at 3:33 pm and at 3:38 pm, which would again put them right in front of Nordhoff High School as students are leaving for the day.

#31I: On December 3, 2008, a double hopper truck went through the restricted zone north up Maricopa Highway (Route 33) past the high school and hospital towards Ozena at 4:40 am, well before the 6:00 am to 7:00 am allowable access through the Ojai Valley. 

At 7:10 am another double hopper, this one from Swader trucking also went through the restricted zone and then past the high school heading north as students were arriving.

At 7:18 am, a third double hopper - possible another one from Swader - also headed north (through the restricted zone).

About ten minutes later, at 7:30 am, a fourth truck was spotted doing the same. The last two trucks were the same color as the Swader trucks but their logos were hard to identify at the speed they were traveling.

#31J On Friday morning, November 21st, I personally witnessed two double hopper gravel trucks heading north on Route 33 go through the restricted zone and the "Y" intersection between 7:30 am and 8:00 am in direct violation of the C.U.P. limits on hours of travel through the valley.

#31K At 7:15 am today, November 24th, I personally witnessed one double hopper gravel truck from Swader Trucking heading up Route 33 through the restricted zone and past Nordhoff High School in direct violation of the C.U.P. limits on hours of travel through the valley.

This afternoon I personally witnessed four different double hopper gravel trucks each fully loaded but uncovered and/or without a tarp, coming down through the restricted zone on Route 33 apparently from the Ozena Valley Ranch and Gravel Mine. The trucks all passed through the Ojai valley between 3:00 pm and 3:30 pm, also in violation of the C.U.P.


#31L Formal Ozena trucking complaint of February 8, 2008 from Bob Walker.

     I am sending you this formal complaint in response to seven trucks that I witnessed on February 8, 2008 violating Ozena Sand and Gravel Mine's hauling time restrictions. At 8:40 A.M. two Southbound Swader trucks hauling 3/8" gravel passed in front of my house. That would put those trucks in the Ojai City limits during the restricted time. Also, I witnessed five Northbound, empty, Valley Bulk trucks in front of my house starting at 8:45 A.M. This would place the trucks passing through the Ojai Valley during the restricted times. The first Valley Bulk truck returned Southbound loaded with washed concrete sand at 11:03 A.M.and the second truck at 11:06 A.M. The roads had been closed due to the recent snows. As soon as they were open, the trucks went right back to their old habits.
Sincerely, Bob Walker.

#32: In the Planning Director's letter of January 14, 2009 to the Stop the Trucks Coalition, the Director alleges a new interpretation of Condition #72 that is unsupported by any evidence whatsoever. 

     Her interpretation not only contradicts wording used in every single Planning Division letter and communication to County officials and the Board of Supervisors, including the 2003 C.U.P. modification approval letter, it may also well be looked upon as another possible abuse of discretion.

     The phrase in the "Day and Hours of Operation" Chart in Condition 72 reads as follows: "All project related travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Spring and City of Ojai." The Planning Director believes the word "between" allows her to exclude both Casitas Springs and the City of Ojai from the restricted zone. The Planning Director created a new map on November 17, 2008 – eight years after the Planning Commission approved the C.U.P. - indicating her determination of the restricted zone along Route 33 in the Ojai Valley. 

     Such an interpretation would mean for example that "consensual sex between two adults" did not involve either party, only the space "between them." Or that the American Civil War, "The War between the States," did not actually involve any states, just the people standing on the Mason-Dixon line. Or that a Conditional Use Permit "between" the County of Ventura and the Ozena Valley Ranch does not actually bind either party, just the space "between" them.

     Perhaps such an absurdist's proposition could be argued over endlessly by lawyers, but again, we repeat the words of county counsel: "…planners have no power to change the terms (of the C.U.P.) approved by the Planning Commission. " and "…to the contrary, Planning staff has a ministerial duty to apply and enforce all Truck Travel conditions as they are approved by the Planning Commission." And, "the 'clear and present duty' of the County Planning Division is its ongoing ministerial duty to apply and enforce the Condition as written and approved by the Planning Commission and re-adopted in Mod 1.

     If this bizarre action on the part of the Planning Director to modify and constrain the restricted zone does not constitute an abuse of her discretion, what does?

#33: In the same January letter the Planning Director wrote: "Some weigh tickets indicated that trucks did leave Ozena mine at times of day that would indicate a potential violation; however those tickets indicate the trucks had an Ojai destination which would not have resulted in a violation of Condition No. 72." 

The C.U.P. Makes no exemption for local delivery. The condition reads: "All project related travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Springs and City of Ojai."

Again, in the words of County Counsel, "…planners have no power to change the terms (of the C.U.P.) approved by the Planning Commission. " The Planning Director's reveals not only another possible lapse of judgment but a further abuse of her powers.

#34 On January 19. 2009, over a dozen double hopper trucks were reported passing through the restricted zone. Trucks were spotted heading north as early as 5:30 am and south as late as 5:40 pm. None of the southbound trucks were covered or tarped. Several passed through the zone during the 7:00 am to 9:00 am black out. And at least three passed through the zone after the 3:00 pm cut off. If these vehicles had been coming from or going to Ozena, most of those trips would constitute potential violations, particularly since they were - as always - traveling with uncovered loads. 


#35: On Wednesday, January 21, 2009 a south bound double hopper, which was uncovered, passed through the restricted zone about 3:27 pm. If this vehicle had been coming from Ozena, it would constitute a potential time violation, particularly since it was - as always - traveling with an uncovered load. 


#36: On Thursday, January 22, 2009, a north bound white double hopper entered the zone at Casitas Springs and proceeded north at around 7:05 am. If heading to Ozena, this too would constitute a violation.

Sincerely,

Howard Smith, Vice Chair
Stop the Trucks

Tired of having your windshield smashed by loose rocks flying off a double hopper gravel truck?

So are we!           The Conditional Use Permit for the Ozena mine requires that all gravel trucks be covered but no one that we've spoken to in the Ojai Valley has ever remembered seeing a covered gravel truck... Ever!           We've all heard complaints from many of our friends and neighbors about damage to their vehicles because of loose gravel.

     After a very positive meeting with the County CEO and County Counsel on issues related to gravel trucking, the Coalition contacted City and State officials to ask for greater enforcement of this rule. We expect both the CHP and local police to initiate inspections and citations shortly.     In the meantime, we'd like to hear from all of you.

     If you have ever had your vehicle damaged by flying gravel, or if you have ever witnessed a loaded gravel truck traveling through our valley without a proper covering, please email us at the address below. Include as much information as you have, including dates, times, location, type of truck, etc. The more specific you can be, the better, but even if you only have fragmentary information, we would appreciate hearing from you.

     The more the people of Ojai join together and stand up for their rights to protection under the law, the safer and happier we will all be. Send your emails to:     OjaiStopTheTrucks@gmail.com

     Judge Reiser ruled against Virgilio and Ozena. Even though Stop the Trucks was not a direct participant in this case, it is a huge victory for the Coalition. Much of the County's brief was based on our research and complaints.

     The "Stop the Trucks" Coalition has not only been supporting the County's contention that the rules must hold, we've also insisted that the County also actually enforce those rules.

     Currently, Ozena is only allowed week day trips through the Ojai Valley from 6:00 am to 7:00 am and from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  A recent review of weigh tickets from a two month period last year by the Coalition showed that trucks from Ozena were possibly violating the schedule as much as 55% of all trips through the valley.

     County Counsel went on to argue that:

      "…to the contrary, Planning staff has a ministerial duty to apply and enforce all Truck Travel conditions as they are approved by the Planning Commission." 

     And, "the 'clear and present duty' of the County Planning Division is its ongoing ministerial duty to apply and enforce the Condition as written and approved by the Planning Commission and re-adopted in Mod 1.

     Lawyers for the County made such a good case in noting both the apparent violations of the C.U.P. by Ozena and of the failure of the Planning Division to enforce the guidelines that Judge Reiser, in a footnote, went so far as to state that, 

     "The initial permit allows for a five-year extension if the Planning Director, assuming, 'all conditions have been continuously complied with' by petitioners, authorizes such continued use. Since the County has already found permit violations; it might well be an abuse of discretion for the Planning Director to authorize such an extension."

     Members of the "Stop the Trucks" Coalition will be meeting with County executives in early January to discuss this ruling and numerous other issues related to the operation of the Ozena gravel mine.

     Along with the snow, the recession, and our hidden cameras, the following sequence of complaints has led to a temporary but significant decrease in truck traffic coming over Route 33 from Ozena and through the Ojai Valley:

     #6: Two independent sources familiar with the gravel industry have reported that the alleged new operator, Alliance had possibly moved and expanded the processing plant; had expanded the size and location of the pit; and were allegedly washing and processing old concrete. If true, all would be potential C.U.P. violations.

     Further, at an October Ojai City Council meeting, the lawyer for Tony Virgilio and Ozena presented the City with a weigh ticket purportedly from October 8th, two months after the Virgilio family had allegedly leased the operation to Alliance. 

     That Virgilio had weigh tickets in his possession for that date leads us to wonder if in fact the Virgilo Family has both leased the operation to Alliance while continuing to fill orders separately as some means to appear to be in compliance while not actually being so. In other words, is he double dipping?

     We appreciate your efforts in investigating these matters.

Sincerely,
Howard Smith, Vice Chair
"Stop the Trucks"

     Ventura county Supervisor Steve Bennett  spoke to the Rotary Club of Ojai-West on November 14, 2008.  

(transcript from the Express Rotary Ojai-West Newsletter)

     Mr. Bennett  took a few questions after his talk, including a few concerning trucks in Ojai.   A lively discussion ensued with member Howard Smith,  co-chairman of the  Stop The Trucks  coalition: 

Smith:   "...recent documentation we've gotten from the county Planning Commission makes it evidently clear that they are doing everything they can to avoid compliance monitoring for conditional use permits for trucking."

Bennett: "...the Ozena Mine thought that their permit allowed them to do certain things, and quite frankly, the county staff person that worked with them agreed.  In fact, they were both interpreting the conditional use permit wrong.  Howard and a number of other people pointed that out.  And so county staff sensed that...I think, has been very..."

Smith:  "Just the opposite.  They've actually refused to turn over all the weigh tickets since that time.  They don't even have them in their possession to look at.  And that's the only document they are using for compliance monitoring. 

Bennett:  "That they don't have them in their possession, that doesn't mean that they are not trying to enforce.  What the planning staff said was, there were all kinds of violations while the planning staff and the mine both were interpreting the condition wrong. That planner that was doing that is no longer working on that case.  They made a decision. They said we're not going to go back and penalize the mine for those violations, but we will enforce it from now on. So I think that's where the difference is..."

Bennett:  "So they went up and did spot checks for one week, and they got weigh tickets for that week and turned them over to Howard.  It is a mine that I'm real concerned with.  So you say, what can you do?  Now that the problem has been fixed in terms of  misinterpretation, they certainly know that we want them to enforce those rules with that mine.  And we also know that we have to be consistent, we have to apply your enforcement consistently with all of the mines that are out there.  I think they're aware of that." 

     "They have some difficulties trying to gear up and get all of the talented people that they need to be able to do the enforcement of all of these mine conditions--probably one of the big enforcement issues that we really have to try to solve here in Ventura County.  We have mines all over in Ventura County, we have trucking all over in Ventura County.  We don't have as many talented people as I think we'd like to have to be able to do that.  We have to get better at finding and getting those people on board."

     I'd just like to say one more thing about the trucking issue.  I am absolutely committed to trying to protect the Ojai Valley from trucks roaring through.  But I think we all have to recognize that is a complicated issue in terms of it's a state highway.  You can't make county laws that deal with that.  There are legal rights of the property owners, the mine owners, etc.  So as much as we'd like to ride right in slice everybody's heads off and say No trucks running through here, that's really a formula to guarantee lots of trucks running through here.  Because if you legally make mistakes and do things wrong, you lose your ability to regulate the mines altogether.  

     There's a tendency to want to simply the trucking issue.  I wish you could simplify the trucking issue. But it's going to take a combination of hard work, savvy and everything else to minimize the impacts on the Ojai Valley.  That's the most that we'll be able to do.  Most of the trucks that you see going through the Ojai Valley come from Santa Barbara County, and we have not one bit of say about which trucks.  And so people imply that they're all Ventura County approved trucks.

     Just a few miles down the road  from mine we were talking about is a much bigger mine that sells much more aggregate and that comes through the Ojai Valley also..."

Council To Help Fund Stop The Trucks Effort 
While Diamond Rock gravel trucks slowed down for time being, new threats looming

By Nao Braverman

     At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting the council agreed to give financial support to the Stop the Trucks Coalition, after the a semi-victory for the citizens’ group in August.

     “After this agreement has been worked out, keeping the Diamond Rock Mine’s trucks out of Ojai, it has been pretty clear to me that whatever this group did, they did it successfully,” said Mayor Sue Horgan.

     The recent legal settlement granted to the coalition, preventing the Diamond Rock Mine from sending gravel trucks through Ojai until 2012, has given the Stop the Truck’s Coalition some respite. 

    But the Ozena Valley Ranch Mine’s expansion looms ahead, with many potential consequences endangering Ojai’s safety, tourist economy and quality of life, said Scott Eicher, a member of the Stop the Trucks Coalition and CEO of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

     The coalition members pleaded for some financial backing from the city to help them battle increased truck traffic from the Ozena Valley Ranch which is looking to expand.

     So far the coalition has spent about $60,000, with $41,000 toward the settlement agreement with the owners of the Diamond Rock Mine, coalition representative Howard Smith told the council.

      Council members were eager to support the committee. 

     “I think the Stop the Trucks Coalition has done all this work and the city has benefitted from it,” said Councilman Steve Olsen. “I think a financial thank-you would be appropriate.”

     But since the city is not legally in the position to give a gift of public funds, council members have to come up with findings that demonstrate that the money will go to a legitimate public purpose. They would also have to do some work to come up with a specific amount to give the coalition, they decided.

     “The coalition has spent $60,000, $41,000 on the agreement with the Diamond Rock Mine which was hugely successful,” she said. “I think giving anything up to $41,000 can be justified.” 

     But council members agreed that it would be wise to wait and meet again with members of Stop the Trucks to come up with a methodology for finding the exact amount the city should give the coalition, and a way to keep track of how the money is spent. 

     A motion was made for city staff to return to the council with a resolution to give financial support to the coalition, leaving the amount blank. 
The motion passed unanimously.

October  12, 2008  --  For all the details please click HERE.  

1. Ojai City Council to Meet Tuesday on how to Deal with Ozena:

     This Tuesday, October 14th, at 7:30 pm the Ojai City Council will meet for its regular session. Part of the agenda will be devoted to discussions on how to co-ordinate efforts to deal with the Ozena Valley Ranch & Gravel Mine's proposed renewal and modification of their C.U.P. with the County of Ventura.

     Given the well-documented negative impact of these highly disruptive and polluting mining and trucking operations on agriculture, fishing, the economy, our water supply, our environment and the health of our children, the "Stop the Trucks" Coalition urges everyone in the Ojai Valley to attend and share your opinions with the City Council.


2. Ozena Wants to Expand Hours of Trucking Thru Ojai and Hand Pick the Consultant who will Review their new Proposal!

     In documents recently obtained by the Ojai "Stop the Trucks" through a Ventura County Public Records Request, the Coalition has learned that Ozena wants to alter their existing permit so that trucking through the Ojai Valley will begin as early as 3:00 am and continue as late as 6:00 pm during the week with "No Route Restrictions" at all on Saturdays!

     This proposal would more than double trucking from a total of seven hours a day during the week to a new and even more intrusive and disturbing 15 hours a day!

     In a recent review of weigh tickets from 2007, the "Stop the Trucks" Coalition estimated that Ozena is likely now violating existing permit hours in trips through Ojai by as much as 55%. In a letter to "Stop the Trucks," County CEO, Ms. Marty Robinson, agreed with the Coalition that violations have been under reported by the Planning Division.

     In a further review of emails obtained through that same Records Request, we found that the agent for Ozena, John Hecht of West Coast Environmental & Engineering, rejected the consultant the County originally selected, URS, because: 

     "...the proposed costs did not appear in line to the anticipated scope of work. Ozena believes that a competitive process will provide a qualified CEQA contractor in a more cost effective manner."

     In a separate email Mr. Hecht then went on to propose the names of three other firms:

     "Per our discussions, the following consultants that we are familiar with that are qualified to provide services to the county on mineral extraction and other industrial services:       Mr. Marty Derus, Lilburn Corporation of San Bernardino; Mr. Tony Locacciato, Managing Principal of Impact Science, Inc.; and Mr. Warren Coalson of Enviromine, Inc. of San Diego."

     Additionally Mr. Hecht, on behalf of Ozena, asks that a second C.U.P. proposal on building an Aquaculture stock pond be including in the same review. 

     This Aquaculture proposal of Ozena's keeps popping up like a mummy in some horror movie, despite the fact that in 2004, a consultant for the County, David Magney & Associates reported "Potentially Significant" Environmental Impacts."

     Magney wrote: 

     "Mosquito Fish and Catfish are nonnative invasive fish species. Presently, neither Mosquitofish nor Catfish are known to occur in the upper Cuyama River and tributaries. Aquaculture of these fish species, into isolated ponds in areas adjacent to a natural river system (Cuyama River), creates a high potential for the introduction of these species into the Cuyama River and tributaries." "Mosquito Fish and Catfish will inevitably escape and colonize natural stream habitats." "Catfish and Mosquito Fish are scavengers and eat almost anything that fits in their mouths." "...these fishes will potentially swim upstream into river habitats inhabit by populations of Rainbow trout." "The introduction of these fishes creates the potential for populations of native natural fishes and amphibians to be lost."

3. County CEO Finds Ozena Violations Greater Than Reported

     In a letter to the Ojai "Stop the Trucks" Coalition, Ventura County CEO, Ms. Marty Robinson, wrote: 

     "After the CEO's office reviewed the July and August 2007 weigh tickets tickets communicated by the RMA" (Resource Management Agency) "a statistically significant sampling of the 649 original tickets was conducted by our office and it was determined that potential northbound violations were omitted from consideration by the Planning Division. If these potential northbound violations had been included , the number of violations would have been materially higher..."

     "Stop the Trucks" had previously reported that upwards of 55% of all Ozena related trips through the Ojai Valley were likely in violation of these rules.

     CEO Robinson went on to say that: 

     "Planning staff has been apprised of this finding and are clear that future reviews need to be accurate, including both northbound and southbound traffic to the mine..."

     "Additionally, we requested the Planning Division conduct a full month sampling of current year weigh tickets... Should this future sampling establish the existence of permit violations, further enforcement actions as prescribed by the Non-Coastal Zoning Ordinance will be considered by the Planning Director.

     The County will provide your organization with the results of that weigh ticket evaluation upon completion."

4. Early Morning Violators Now on Film

     The "Stop the Trucks" Coalition is now testing prototype camera systems to track early morning violators of the Ozena Gravel Mining & Trucking C.U.P.

     On the morning of 10/8/08 at the "Y" at 5:45am; A tandem truck turned round the bend, 33 northbound.  We photographed it as it passed in front of the Ojai Pet Hospital driveway.

     For the second truck we triggered the remote camera:  Although this test model does not print the time stamp, that data is stored and dated in the memory card.  This one was stored at 5:57 AM.

To view a sample of our covert filming   CLICK HERE.

Stop the Trucks:  Ventura County Officials Finally Admit there are Problems 

and  MAC Candidate Jerry Kaplan Responds to our Election Year Questions

(CalTrans photo of the collapse of Maricopa Highway in Cuyama Valley)

     Last week in a Ventura County Star article by Tony Biasotti, Ventura County officials conceded that there are significant problems in the Planning Division.  CLICK HERE to see it for yourself.  The real questions is this: Are they Willing To Change?

     According to Biasotti Ventura County officials hosted an unusual meeting in a conference room just off of the courthouse cafeteria.

     "Everyone on our team has affirmed we have a problem here," Matt Carroll, the top deputy to County Executive Officer Marty Robinson, said at the opening of the meeting. "The facts speak for themselves."

     "Complaints about the system from developers and property owners are nothing new..." " But this time, the county is listening and often agreeing..."

     "Last year, the county commissioned a report on its land-use procedures by Tom Berg, a consultant who once held (Chris) Stephens' current position as Resource Management Agency director. Based on interviews with 75 people in and out of county government, Berg's report concluded that the land-use process was in need of "systemic changes."

     "The county put together a committee of high-level managers, including Carroll and Stephens, to analyze Berg's recommendations and start putting them into action."

(Gravel Truck cutting through Ojai at Summer & Signal. Photo Daly Road Graphics)

     One participant said "She's particularly concerned that the committee isn't supporting Berg's recommendation to hire a land-use ombudsman, a high-level person outside the Resource Management Agency who would deal with citizen complaints."

     "There's also some skepticism from players in the process who aren't developers. Howard Smith is a founding member of Stop the Trucks, a group in Ojai that has filed complaints with the county against the companies that send trucks through the Ojai Valley from the quarries and gravel mines to the north. He was interviewed for Berg's report and he has spoken to the Board of Supervisors about the proposed reforms, but he said he wasn't invited to last week's workshop.

     "Smith said he's worried that his group's concern — the lack of attention paid to enforcing the conditions of permits granted to the gravel mines and other companies — will be pushed aside."

     "I don't sense any willingness on the part of the mid-level staff to actually deal with this," he said. "The notion of having to discipline someone seems like an anathema to them."

(Gravel Truck stopped on Ojai Ave. Photo credit to Daly Road Graphics)

Jerry Kaplan, the first candidate competing for a seat on the MAC (Municipal Advisor Council) 
has joined Suza Francina in responding to our questions for candidates. 

     Jerry is running for the seat from District Seven, which covers most of the East End and the Far Northwest side of the Valley. "Stop the Trucks" hopes the other MAC candidates and those running for the City Council will take a few moments to answer a few questions online. We would like each candidate to share their thoughts with the public on the how they intend to deal with the long term threat posed by gravel trucking through Ojai and the blind eye that the Ventura County Planning Division is seemingly paying to regular daily violations of the existing Conditional Use Permits (C.U.P.'s). 

1.  Do you now or have you in the past personally supported “Stop the Trucks!”

     As a founding member of “The Coalition to Stop the Trucks” I have been a very active and supporting member of this Coalition. I first became aware of this potential problem when I attended a meeting of the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council over a year ago. I immediately contacted Howard Smith, a community active Ojai resident, who was then President of VCEDA (Ventura County Economic Development Association), to see if he was aware of the problem of gravel trucks coming through the Ojai Valley. After Howard did some research, we formed the “Coalition” and Howard immediately alerted the Ventura County Star and the Ojai Valley News. From that start the “Coalition” has grown into a hard hitting successful advocate of the Greater Ojai Valley’s fight to stop the potential extremely harmful effects on the Citizens way of life in the Greater Ojai Valley. Everyone living or working the Ojai Valley should be big supporters of the “Coalition to Stop the Trucks”. My concern over this issue, as well as other issues facing our valley, caused me to run for the Municipal Advisory Council (MAC).

2.  If so please give examples of actions you have taken.

     Besides being a founder of the Coalition I have donated money and time and energy in helping to develop the Coalition. I have done substantial research in support of the successful actions taken to stop the trucks and my wife, Anne Grupp-Kaplan, a successful attorney, continue being involved in the decision making process of the Coalition. We, along with several other members of the coalition traveled to Santa Maria to participate in hearings by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission on applications for new mines in Santa Barbara County which could have sent hundreds of gravel trucks through the Ojai Valley every day. I arranged for an Ojai Rotary Club informational forum on the potential substantial problems with highways 33 and 150 as a result of gravel trucks use of these highways. The discussions were between Howard Smith (delete this: who was then president of the Coalition), and Sameer Haddadeen, Chief, Office of Traffic Investigations, CalTrans, District 7. I have been a speaker before several groups, organizations and Los Padres Forest personnel and volunteers explaining how continued and increased Gravel truck traffic through the Greater Ojai Valley would have catastrophic effects on all aspects of this area. I continue being an active member of the Coalition and do everything I can to support its activities.

3.  Do you believe the Ojai City Council should take a more active role in the truck campaign, such as providing funding and legal support?

     I am running for the MAC, which advises the County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission. However, I believe the city of Ojai should be providing substantial support for the Coalition in all areas including financial, legal, research, personnel, and assistance with dealing with other government agencies at all levels. The potential adverse effects include economic, environmental, safety, to name a few. We could be dealing with the life or death of our Valley as we know it.

4.  If so, can you name specific steps that you believe the City can and should undertake?

The City of Ojai, with a population of around 8,000 people is the hub of the Greater Ojai Valley which has a population of around 30,000. As a result I believe that the City Council has the responsibility of being substantially involved in anything that threatens all of the residents of the Ojai Valley. There is substantial interaction between the City and the surrounding non incorporated areas. The City Council is the glue that holds the Greater Ojai Valley together. In this instance, which is similar to the Weldon Canyon situation, the City Council and the City of Ojai should be in the forefront of providing the where with all and leadership, in partnership with the Coalition to Stop the Trucks, to fend off this substantial attack on the Ojai Valley. The City should also be reaching out to all organizations in the Greater Ojai Valley for support and involvement, as partners in this project. This should include the Municipal Advisory Council, the community leadership group in Oak View and all other components of the Greater Ojai Valley. The City of Ojai should also be providing the leadership for a visioning and strategic planning for the next 25 to 50 years in order to get ahead of the curve and eliminating threats to our community like the “Gravel Trucks” Either the Greater Ojai Valley does its best to control the changes which will take place in the future, or others will. Since “Change” is the only constant in life I vote for doing our best to control it as much as possible.

     The Coalition to Stop the Trucks is and has been doing an outstanding job of fighting off the Gravel Truck threats. The City of Ojai should immediately join with, add support in every possible way and participate with the Coalition in all aspects of this fight!



5.  Do you believe the City should work with CalTrans to permanently ban all thru trucking on Route 33 north of Ojai and on Route 150 through downtown Ojai?

     Absolutely! I also feel that joint City and County action should be taken to eliminate all unnecessary or high impact traffic on all of route 33 and 150. This concept would need to be researched so as not to harm healthy and necessary traffic through these areas. If I am elected to the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council I pledge to work hard to help these suggestions become fact.

6.   If so, what specific steps would you take to see this accomplished?

     Please see my answer to question 5, above. Also, because I have been and still am very substantially involved with the “Coalition” I would continue to strongly support the many and creative possible steps we have developed for accomplishing and monitoring such a ban on specific heavy truck traffic through the Greater Ojai Valley.

     7.  The Ozena mine’s county permit states its “normal hours of operation” for trucks traveling on Highway 33 in the Ojai Valley are from 6 to 7 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., yet they seem to be in violation of these conditions and so far County officials have failed to take any action. What steps should the City take to see that County officials enforce the Permit?

     The Coalition is doing and has done an incredible job of researching, investigating and demanding public records relating to these violations. As MAC advises the county, I would hope to bring pressure so that these enforcement problems are solved.
 

8.   Would you actively support the Coalition’s request to have an independent Ombudsman appointed to not only undertake a further investigation into the abuse of CUP 5170 by the permit holders, but also the very operation of compliance monitoring by the Planning Division?

     Absolutely! Again, because of my ongoing involvement with the “Coalition” I am very aware of the great need for an appointment of an Ombudsman not only to investigate the Ozena Mine’s activities, but possibly more important, the seemingly absolute faultiness of the Ventura County Planning Department to do their duty of correctly and consistently monitoring the Conditional Use Permit’s they issue. The Director of the Planning Department admitted this during a meeting with the Supervisors of Ventura County! Also, if I am elected to the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) I will actively pursue this request until it happens!!

9.  Given the Planning Divisions claim that it is seemingly impossible to monitor C.U.P. compliance, do you agree that the County has no business, under CEQA guidelines, approving the CUP in the first place?

     Absolutely! The Coalition has done substantial research into ways of providing accurate and consistent monitoring of CUP’s such as Ozena’s. This has been discussed with the Planning Department of Ventura County yet they still have done nothing to make it happen.

10.   Do you believe the County should begin the process to terminate Ozena’s current C.U.P.?

The Coalition has provided the County Planning Department much more than all the information they need to proceed with this termination. Again, if elected to MAC I would bring this to the attention of the other members and suggest that immediate action be taken by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to assure that the Planning Department does its job, correctly and quickly, including terminating the current C.U.P.

11.  And if so, how would you persuade the County to accomplish this?

     See answer for question 10, above. Also, I would continue to work hard, as a founding member of the Coalition to Stop the Trucks, to use all of our creativity and persistence to cause a permanent ban on all through heavy trucking, such as gravel trucks, on all of Highways 33 and 150.

     As a member of the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council, I would do everything possible to educate the council and the Board of Supervisors on this threat to the Greater Ojai Valley, including facilitating meetings with members of the Coalition which, I believe, would help them understand and take action on the threats and evidence of wrongdoing by Ozena and the misconduct of the Planning Department.

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Send your donations to the Stop The Trucks! Coalition – c/o The Ojai Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1134, Ojai, CA, 93024.

You may also walk your contribution into the Chamber’s offices anytime during the business week, 
at 201 S. Signal Street -- in the Ojai Festivals building -- in downtown Ojai.

CLICK HERE to see the Stop The Trucks blog.

CLICK HERE To comment or answer the questions posted by the Coalition.

Stop the Trucks:   Election Year Edition

Do You Support this Vision of Ojai?	Or This Vision?

     With five candidates competing for two City Council vacancies and several of the MAC (Municipal Advisory Council) seats also facing competitive races, the Ojai "Stop the Trucks!" Coalition is asking everyone running for office to take a few moments to answer a few questions online. 

     We would like each candidate to share their thoughts with the public on the how they intend to deal with the long term threat posed by gravel trucking through Ojai and the blind eye that the Ventura County Planning Division is seemingly paying to regular daily violations of the existing Conditional Use Permits (C.U.P.'s).

Background:

     There are six mines working or in the application phase. Permits are approved or pending would allow 600-800 gravel truck trips per day through Ojai on both Routes 33 to Ventura & Oxnard and 150 through downtown and the East End to Santa Paula. That is one truck every 3-5 minutes of the day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

     This volume of trucking through Ojai could permanently destroy our three key industries, tourism, agriculture and education.  It would turn our town into an industrial truck road and irreparably transform the valley.

In addition to the danger of having this many trucks on 33 & 150, carcinogenic particulate matter combined with gaseous diesel exhaust will dangerously pollute the fragile Ojai Valley air shed. This will dramatically increase health concerns for what is already the second worse air quality in Ventura County. Photo:  Daly Road Graphics

 

A)    A recent agreement between the Coalition and the Diamond Rock Mine in the Santa Barbara, clears the stage for the Coalition to focus more of its attention on the operation of the Ozena Valley Ranch Mine in Ventura County. B)    Recently the Ventura County Planning Division acknowledged that no independent review was ever conducted on the prior Ozena Conditional Use Permit (C.U.P.) applications dating back to 2001. C)    In response to a complaint by the Coalition about violations of the existing Ozena permit hours of operation, County Planning Division staff claimed the violations were insignificant and that the Director of the Planning Division will not retroactively enforce violations. D)    Reviewing the same records the Coalition found that of the 649 weigh tickets examined, 476 were for trucks that used Route 33 north or south through Ojai and Casitas Springs. By our count over 268 -- or over 40% of the total, amounting to an astonishing 55% of those going through our valley -- were in apparent violation of Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170. E)    The Coalition has asked Ventura County Executive Marty Robinson to appoint an Ombudsman to investigate the conduct of the entire application process by Planning Division staff and to initiate the termination process due to significant violations of Ozena's existing C.U.P. conditions

 

A double hopper cruises down Ojai Avenue during the morning rush hour.      According to Ray, "This afternoon, Wednesday, April 16th, after some shopping at the 'Y', I noticed a tandem turn left instead right of at the light. That's eastward along 150, and not South on 33. So I followed along to see what was up. The truck went past the museum, past the Post Office through the center of town, and on past Ojai Lumber, past Boccali's and up the Dennison grade." Photo:  Daly Road Graphics

Here are our  Questions for Candidates:

1)    Do you now or have you in the past personally supported "Stop the Trucks!" 2)      If so, please give examples of actions you have actually taken.

 

The same double hopper attempts to climb the grade past Boccali's. The truck struggles to stay within the lanes. Who says trucks won't cut through Ojai on 150 to get to Santa Paula?    Photo credit to Daly Road Graphics

 

3)   Do you believe the Ojai City Council should take a more active role in the truck campaign, such as providing funding and legal support? 4)    If so, can you name specific steps that you believe the City can and should undertake? (Two Gravel Trucks in a row coming down from Ozena whiz past Nordhoff High School. Photo credit to Rob Varela, VC Star) 5)    Do you believe the City should work with CalTrans to permanently ban all thru heavy trucking on Route 33 north of Ojai and on Route 150 through downtown Ojai? 6)    If so, what specific steps would you take to see that this is accomplished.

 

Another fully loaded truck crosses the yellow line while coming around a blind curve on Route 33. Photo credit to Forest Watch, Jeff Kuyper

 

7)    The Ozena mine's county permit states its "normal hours of operation" for trucks traveling on Highway 33 in the Ojai Valley are from 6 to 7 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., yet they seem to be in violation of these conditions and so far County officials have failed to take any action. What steps should the City take to see that County officials enforce the permit? 8)    Would you actively support the Coalition's request to have an independent Ombudsman appointed to not only undertake a further investigation into abuse of CUP 5170 by the permit holders, but also the very operation of compliance monitoring by the Planning Division?

 

"The morning traffic jam at the "Y" is getting worse. These two tandems have just cut across Ojai on it's main street, westbound. The red one turned south. The white one headed north."   Photo Credit to Ray Smith

Traffic backing up behind a gravel truck on Route 33.      Photo Daly Road Graphics

     We also need the continued support of everyone in Ojai to see that these past travesties do not happen again. Please send your donations to the Stop The Trucks! Coalition – c/o The Ojai Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1134, Ojai, CA, 93024, or you may also walk your contribution into the Chamber’s offices anytime during the business week, at 201 S. Signal Street -- in the Ojai Festivals building -- in downtown Ojai. 

Response from Ojai City Council Candidate Suza Francina to "Our Questions for Candidates"

1) Do you now or have you in the past personally supported "Stop the Trucks!"

     I have read all the editorials, letters and miscellaneous articles by the Stop the Trucks Coalition and have conveyed to family, friends and co-workers that the trucks represent a serious problem for the future of the valley, comparable to Weldon Dump.

2) If so, please give examples of actions you have actually taken.
(See previous response.)

3) Do you believe the Ojai City Council should take a more active role in the truck campaign, such as providing funding and legal support?

     Yes! I strongly feel that the City should do much more to support your efforts. It is my understanding that Jere Kersnar and Carol Smith did go to Santa Maria to speak to the County Board of Supervisors. I read the letter dated January, 2007 to the Planning Commissioners, County of Santa Barbara (posted on the City web site) which states the City of Ojai's absolute and unanimous opposition to the proposed Diamond Rock Sand and Gravel Mine.

4) If so, can you name specific steps that you believe the City can and should undertake?

     The City should take a leadership role similar to when we fought and defeated Weldon Dump. I believe the City should provide funds for legal fees as this is an investment for Ojai's future that has far-reaching economic effects.

     Regardless of who wins the presidency there will be a big push to rebuild the infrastructure of this country. These mines will be an integral part of this rebuilding and without intervention Ojai could see more trucks than currently imaginable.

     The Ojai City Council and the citizens of Ojai need to go to Sacramento to lobby the Governor, CalTrans, EPA, Tourism etc. for a Save Our Town lobby day. Make a splash that will attract the press and change the dynamics of this issue in the minds of the government.

     In addition, I would explore the following points:

     Stop the Trucks needs to go after the press in Los Angeles and Sacramento and get much more publicity. You need B Roll Video Footage for the TV and print for the papers. 30% to 50% of all news comes from groups out side of the newspapers and TV staff. We have to produce the news for the news reporters.

     I would want to find out if there is an organization of small towns in California or the US that fights similar scenarios.

     Stop the Trucks and the City of Ojai must to talk to the California Travel & Tourism Commission to find ways to legally protect our tourist economy.

     Stop the Trucks appears to be fighting the trucks on the battlefield that best suits the trucking companies. Change the battle field and throw the gravel truckers off balance.

5) Do you believe the City should work with CalTrans to permanently ban all thru heavy trucking on Route 33 north of Ojai and on Route 150 through downtown Ojai?

     YES but with possible exceptions for Agriculture, Home movers, Building Supplies, Groceries, etc.

6) If so, what specific steps would you take to see that this is accomplished.

     While working on the ban there are some steps that can be taken to complicate the trucks traveling through the valley.

     First, we should contact the California Department of weights and measures to make sure the scales are accurate and that all gravel trucks meet weight requirements.

     Second, we need to know to what degree the dust and diesel emissions add to the valley’s already failing air quality grades from organizations like the American Lung Association.

     Third, find out if the trucks are subject to the slow traffic rules that require trucks to pull off the road when there are 5 or more cars behind them. Then find out if they are exceeding the safe speed required for heavy trucks with Cal Trans monitoring units. (You may all ready have this data in your reports) but this seems critical to know.

     Fourth, make a point of having the sheriffs department check the driver’s licenses of truck drivers on a routine random basis and also have them check to make sure all gravel trucks meet California safety codes.

     The idea is to make gravel haulers trips more difficult, slow them down and make the 33 and 101 uneconomical.

7) The Ozena mine's county permit states its "normal hours of operation" for trucks traveling on Highway 33 in the Ojai Valley are from 6 to 7 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., yet they seem to be in violation of these conditions and so far County officials have failed to take any action.

What steps should the City take to see that County officials enforce the permit?

     Contact Cal Trans and ask for copies of the time stamped trip/weight tickets that must travel with each load to make sure the travel guidelines are being followed.

8) Would you actively support the Coalition's request to have an independent Ombudsman appointed to not only undertake a further investigation into abuse of CUP 5170 by the permit holders, but also the very operation of compliance monitoring by the Planning Division?

     YES!

9) Given the Planning Division's claim that it is seemingly impossible to monitor C.U.P. compliance, do you agree that the County has no business, under CEQA guidelines, approving the C.U.P. in the first place?

     YES, however this is the 21st century, most trucks have or can be equipped with digital monitoring devices. These tracking devices are linked to satellites for real time data so show where each truck is at all times. This is not some new space age technology. It’s being used now by most major trucking companies in the world. The Planning Division is either staffed by Luddites or they are not being truthful.

10) Do you believe the County should begin the process to terminate Ozena's current C.U.P.? YES

11) And if so, how would you persuade the County to accomplish this?

     In the EIR , the analysis concluded that there were negative quality of life impacts to the citizens of Ojai that could not be mitigated.

     City leaders and council members should continue to convey their strong opposition backed up with legal teeth. The city should also demand air quality analysis based on the average exhaust and dust emitted by the trucks, then scale up the analysis based on proposed trips in the valley. The federal EPA should also be contacted to enforce air quality standards.

     If I were on the Ojai City Council I would leave no stone unturned in solving this problem!

Comment #4 Posted by: Suza Francina | August 26, 2008 07:05 PM
Suza Francina
Ojai City Council Candidate
511 W. Eucalyptus Street
Ojai, California, 93023
(805) 646-2613
Cell: (805) 603-8635

HELP US  STOP THE TRUCKS!

     Send your donations to the Stop The Trucks! Coalition – c/o The Ojai Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1134, Ojai, CA, 93024, or you may also walk your contribution into the Chamber’s offices anytime during the business week, at 201 S. Signal Street -- in the Ojai Festivals building -- in downtown Ojai.

By Michael Shapiro, Chairman / Stop The Trucks! Coalition

Repeating what I wrote last week in my Ojai Valley News Guest Editorial -- various news reports about the recent Santa Barbara-based Diamond Rock Mine didn’t tell the full story. It is simply not true that the Stop the Trucks! Coalition prevailed during the recent hearings before the Santa Barbara Planning Commission, and that’s why we’re appealing the decision of the Santa Barbara Planning Commission to approve the Diamond Rock Mine’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR). If we don’t, it paves the way for the granting of their Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and simultaneously strips-away any of Ojai’s legal rights to challenge them in the event that they “change their minds” and hundreds of rock and gravel mine-transport trucks end-up careening through Ojai after all.

Here’s what happened: In the interest of saving all parties great expense throughout any lengthy challenge and approval process, the Stop The Trucks! Coalition negotiated an agreement with the Diamond Rock Mine that we would not challenge their Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) as long as they didn’t send mine truck transports through Ojai, and that the Stop The Trucks! Coalition maintained the rights to legally challenge them if they ever did. Unfortunately, not only did the Santa Barbara Planning Commission end-up approving the Diamond Rock Mine’s EIR, but it also granted them the freedom and flexibility to rely on that approval even if they sought to modify their CUP in order to “flip-flop” and send mine transport trucks up and down Route 33 and through Ojai at any time in the future, and there would be nothing that we could do to stop them.

Indeed -- unless their ruling is challenged and we win a reversal, Ojai and the Stop The Trucks! Coalition have been stripped of any rights to challenge and review their EIR and CUP as it relates to the health, safety, welfare and environmental havoc that such mine transport truck traffic through Ojai would cause. And this is why our appeal is so important. And although the appeal process will take time and lots of funding – we feel we have a good chance of prevailing as long as we continue to have your generous financial support to stay the course.

To compound the stresses and challenges now facing Ojai and the Stop The Trucks! Coalition, we’re now simultaneously facing an aggressive Ventura County-based mining operation – the Ozena Valley Ranch Rock & Gravel Mine – and what also appears to be a well-entrenched Ventura County Planning staff hell-bent on white-washing innumerable past CUP violations by the Ozena applicant and somehow granting them a renewed CUP and expanded production, regardless of those violations.

Please understand that we’ve not been handed any victory from anyone, and that several more rock and gravel mines remain waiting in the wings to join both Diamond Rock and Ozena – whom they may perceive are winning the rights to send any numbers of huge rock and gravel mine transports through Ojai with impunity.

The struggle to preserve the traditional ambiance, character, economy, environmental health, safety and welfare of Ojai is rapidly building to a critical mass, and if we are to prevail both legally, administratively and politically, we must continue to have your generous financial and political support. It’s obvious that our opponents aren’t interested in “good faith negotiations.” They’d rather mislead, and in the process, try to wear us down and cause us to spend more money and time than would otherwise be necessary. Well, now – let’s make it perfectly clear to our rock and gravel mine opponents that what’s “good for the goose, is also good for the gander!” And while I’m not implying that we would ever spend legal and consulting funds unwisely, we have to maintain the ability to prevail against their unscrupulous tactics.

I recall the management, consultants and even some Ventura County planning staffers also thinking that Ojai would end-up losing its ability to prevail against Waste Management’s huge Weldon Canyon garbage landfill project planned for the entrance to the Ojai Valley. We didn’t buckle then, and with your continued generosity and support now – we will prevail again in this latest and most onerous challenge to Ojai’s preservation as that example of a small, California town of yesteryear… a town who’s economy and environment is supported by education, the arts and tourism, and not rampant, destructive, dangerous and unhealthful industrialization -- which is exactly what massive gravel and rock mine transport trucking would end up causing.

Yes – we continue to count on your generous and ongoing financial support to STOP THE TRUCKS! now - as much as ever.

Send your donations to the Stop The Trucks! Coalition – c/o The Ojai Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 1134, Ojai, CA, 93024, or you may also walk your contribution into the Chamber’s offices anytime during the business week, at 201 S. Signal Street -- in the Ojai Festivals building -- in downtown Ojai.

For continuous updates on all the news regarding this issue, don’t forget to also log-on to the Ojai Post and “click” on “Stop The Trucks! Coalition.

Thanks so much.

Michael Shapiro
Chair – Stop The Trucks! Coalition

STOP THE TRUCKS: Mine Opponents Suspect Official Bias


In Thursday’s Ventura County Reporter, Editor Bill Lascher wrote: 

   “A broad coalition of Ojai residents, environmentalists, business owners, public officials and educators launched a blistering attack June 17 on county planners overseeing permits for mining operations.

     Ventura County Chief Executive Officer Marty Robinson confirmed county officials plan to discuss allegations in a letter sent by Stop the Trucks Coalition Vice-Chair Howard Smith about oversight of the controversial Ozena Valley Ranch mine.”

For the full story CLICK HERE.

Some further highlights:

     “Frustrated by what they perceive to be lax enforcement of planning regulations, Smith and his allies called for the ouster of a key Ventura County planning official for decisions related to the mine, which is located several miles north of Ojai, east of State Route 33.

     ‘We feel that the county has proven beyond any litmus test that they’re incapable of enforcing any violations,’ said Michael Shapiro, chairman of Stop the Trucks Coalition…”

     “The coalition says officials, particularly planning division manager Patrick Richards, have allowed Ozena to flaunt restrictions the county has placed on the mine. They claim Richards vastly undercounted weigh tickets from July and August 2007. Shapiro says their (time) stamps prove trucks traveled on Route 33 at restricted times in violation of the permit…”

     “We reviewed the same weigh tickets and time stamps as Mr. Richards but arrived at a completely different conclusion using the guidelines clearly set — and confirmed last year by county counsel and Division Director Kim Rodriguez,” Smith said in the letter.

     The coalition’s review, he said, revealed that more than 40 percent of the total truck trips (and 55% of those going through Ojai) violated Ozena’s conditional use permit…”

     “It would be an act of charity to say that after eight years of monitoring this conditional use permit, the planning division staff appears to suffer from a profound aversion to comprehending, implementing, monitoring and/or insuring compliance of this permit.”

     “The letter makes three demands: appoint an ombudsperson to review how planning officials handled Ozena’s permit, terminate the permit for violations the coalition claims are continuing, and that Richards be kept from this project and any dealing with Ojai.

     Shapiro said the fact the planning division is dependent on revenue from planning permit application fees creates an inherent conflict of interest…”

     “…Shapiro said he and his allies understand there is a need in the county for aggregate materials, but Ojai may be permanently threatened by “industrialization” of Highway 33…”

     “...’I know that it has been a contentious issue,’ Robinson said. ‘I have an obligation to take a look at this and respond’…”

Dear Ms. Robinson:

     Thank you for commissioning Tom Berg and his report on the operations of the Ventura County Resource Management Division. The Ojai Stop the Trucks! Coalition was grateful that we not only were able to provide input to the report but were also afforded the opportunity to present our views before the Board of Supervisors.

     In the wake of the comments made by each of the Supervisors, one would have imagined that the employees of the Resource Management Agency and the Planning Division would have gotten the message that when it comes to the administration and processing of C.U.P.'s, that county staff must deal with the issues of monitoring and compliance.

     Sadly, that does not seem to be the case. Last week our coalition received the attached letter from Patrick Richards. Please consider this letter our formal response and rejection of his May 29, 2008 "Investigation of Ozena Valley Ranch Mine July & August 2007 Weigh Tickets and Billing Records."

     According to Mr. Richards, he reviewed some two-months of weigh tickets and allegedly spotted so few violations that, in his words, they "were found to be inconclusive towards reviewing Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170."

    We reviewed the same Weigh Tickets and Time Stamps as Mr. Richards but arrived at a completely different conclusion using the guidelines clearly set – and confirmed last year by County Counsel and Division Director Kim Rodriguez – in Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170.

     We found that of the 649 weigh tickets reviewed, 476 were for trucks that used Route 33 north or south through Ojai and Casitas Springs. By our count over 268 -- or over 40% of the total, amounting to an astonishing 55% of those going through our valley -- were in apparent violation of Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170.

     It would be an act of charity to say that after eight years of monitoring this C.U.P., the Planning Division staff appears to suffer from a profound aversion to comprehending, implementing, monitoring and/or insuring compliance of this permit.

     With Mr. Richards seemingly using an apocryphal set of standards to evaluate compliance that have nothing to do at all with Condition No. 72 guidelines, is it any wonder that so many people – leaders from within Ojai’s elected and appointed city officials, the leadership of the Ojai Unified School District, the CEO of the Ojai Chamber of Commerce – and the thousands of regular citizens who constitute and support Ojai’s broadly represented Stop The Trucks! Coalition -- are so angry?

     Given that more than half of all mine transport truck trips through the Ojai Valley are in apparent violations of time constraints, this calls into question any recommendation made by the Planning Division to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors regarding Ozena over the past eight years. There is a an obvious need for an independent Ombudsman to not only undertake a further investigation into abuse of CUP 5170 by the permit holders, but also the very operation of compliance monitoring by the Planning Division as was called for by the Board of Supervisors on the day of Tom Berg's presentation.

     Mr. Richards, however practically precludes any further examination by quoting his supervisor, Kim Rodriguez, the Planning Division Director, who stated that the County will not retroactively enforce possible violations of Condition No. 72.

     Kim Rodriguez sent letters to Brian Bergman (the attorney for Ozena) and to Scott Eicher (at the time, the Chairperson of the “Stop the Trucks! Coalition") declaring that “although there was some past confusion among department staff as to the interpretation of the hours listed in the 2003 CUP Modification #1 of 2003, the Planning Division has determined that Condition 72 (Days and Hours of Operation) will be enforced using a strict and literal reading of the conditions which prohibit All Project Related Travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Springs and the City of Ojai on weekdays at any time other than 6:00am to 7:00 am and 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturdays from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm.

     Ms. Rodriguez's decision to not retroactively enforce violations is, in itself, questionable. It is akin to a Police Department refusing to stop criminal behavior because patrol officers were ignorant of the law. Incompetence of staff is no excuse for justifying a unilateral decision to override the conditions of a C.U.P.

     Given what appears to be more than tacit approval of Mr. Richards' work by his superiors, we respectfully ask the following:

     In reviewing the history of The Ozena Ranch Mine project, the original permit to operate the gravel mine was issued in 2001. Unfortunately for the citizens of Ojai, CEQA violations began immediately when the Division failed to establish reasonable standards for monitoring, compliance or enforcement.

     The next CEQA violation occurred in May of 2003, when Mr. Richards reviewed and approved a “Minor Modification of C.U.P. 5170 (1).” Although the restrictions on transit through Ojai were left unchanged, Mr. Richards signed off on an “Approval Letter” issued two weeks later, on June 13, 2003. In that letter the conditions are apparently modified significantly in the favor of the applicant -- the Virgilio Family -- without any public review or approval. In item #7 (3) of the Approval Letter, the limits of trucking through Ojai are redefined as follows: No change in trucks avoiding Highway 33 through the Ojai Valley between 7-9am and 3-5pm during weekdays.

     Although the C.U.P. itself calls for no trucks though Ojai after 3:00pm, the insertion of the phrase “3-5pm” created the illusion that trucks can now travel through Ojai unrestricted after 5:00pm, effectively tripling the hours of operation through the valley from 7 to 20 hours a day. This also had the effect of vastly increasing the income flowing into Ozena and to the Virgilio family, despite the fact that neither Mr. Richards nor the Planning Division violated CEQA guidelines by making such a modification without public input, awareness or review.

     All of this might have gone entirely unnoticed or treated as a mere typo except for several facts: First, as best anyone can confirm, after the 2005 slides on Route 33 above the Sespe Gorge were cleared, trucks began to run through Ojai as early as 2:30 am and well past the 3:00pm scheduled weekday cut off.

     It was then perhaps entirely ironic that when two gun stores -- one in Compton and one in the Ojai Valley – both owned by the same Virgilio family that operates the Ozena Ranch Mine facility -- were raided and closed by Federal agents of the ATF, resulting in a member of the Virgilio family apparently being convicted on charges related to illegally selling guns to known felons – that their rock and gravel mine operations began to more fully occupy the radar screens of a vast number of Ojai residents and civic leaders. Increased press coverage began to appear. In response to the rapidly growing complaints about Ozena’s trucks, Nao Braverman -- a reporter for the Ojai Valley News -- interviewed Ventura County Planning Division staff for an April 2007, article. Scott Ellison is quoted in that article as saying: “It has been difficult to monitor trucks violating their travel restrictions because there are several mines in the area that use gravel trucks, each with varying permit restrictions, and it has been almost impossible to identify which mines the trucks are coming from.”

     Given the Planning Division's claim that it is seemingly impossible to monitor C.U.P. compliance, the County had no business, under CEQA guidelines, approving the C.U.P. in the first place. Further, when pushed by public pressure to monitor the trucks, the Division came up with the ludicrous idea of “placards”, which are invisible at night when most violations occur, rather than suggesting ideas that might actually work, such as traffic cameras mounted at the “Y” in Ojai and on Route 33 near the mines.

     In an April 2, 2007 memo to Kim Rodriguez (Early Morning Trips, Ozena Valley Mine), Mr. Richards does mention that the Division had received a number of telephone complaints and 10 letters in which noise was listed as a serious problem. To date, those ten letters have never surfaced in any of our continuous Public Records Requests.

     Here’s a classic, telling example of how the Ventura County Planning Division deals with complaints regarding the mine trucking transports careening through the Ojai Valley during restricted time periods: A resident of Maricopa Highway north of Matilija Canyon submitted two complaints between 2005 and 2006. These complaints were either ignored or never investigated. To date, the submitter of these complaints has never received a response from the Planning Division. He has since filed a third complaint early this year but this has also failed to garner any response. By the way, copies of these complaints have been re-submitted to the Planning Division, the County Board of Supervisors and the press.

     Eventually – and perhaps in a face-saving effort which we believe was too little and too late – in response to a complaint that may have originated from the Ojai Valley Unified School District protesting that gravel trucks from Ozena were violating the schedule -- Scott Ellison made an appearance in Ojai in September of 2006. According to his case notes on file, ("Memorandum; Ventura County Planning Division, September 18, 2006) which we obtained last year during a Public Records Request, there were observations of seven violations by trucks from Ozena in the course of one week. In fact, if one reviews Mr. Ellison's charts (as Mr. Richards should have done) one finds that 9 of 16 trips, or nearly two-thirds of all trucks observed, were in apparent violation. Planning Division staff once again exhibited a profound lack of knowledge of Condition No. 72 of CUP 5170.

     Following-up on Ellison's report, Carole Aragon of the Planning Division wrote up a “Notice of Violation” that ignored most of the actual early morning violations and instead focused only on those during school black-out hours that Mr. Ellison reported. The mine was told to comply but no other disciplinary action or follow-up seems to have been taken to determine whether or not the Ozena Ranch Mine transports remained in compliance.

     Last year, when initially questioned about complaints in two Public Record Requests filed by Los Padres Forestwatch (a member of the Stop the Trucks! Coalition) Planning Division staff ignored the first request and then rebuffed the second, claiming that “Material that is not public record include copies of actual complaints, any enforcement files/notes, or proprietary information that could give competitors business insights into a project’s operational or financial activities.” That response was a clear violation of state law and it was only following our third request, made in our behalf by the law firm representing the Stop the Trucks! Coalition, and presented directly to Kim Rodriguez, that we finally obtained the documents originally requested months earlier.

     On January 25, 2007, the Planning Division prepared another memo entitled "Early Morning Truck Runs Through the Ojai Valley." That memo details the department's discussions about Ozena, but repeatedly misquotes the hours of truck restrictions through the Ojai Valley and continues to repeat the errors as if they were facts. In truth, all the memo does is memorialize the Planning Division's profound aversion to knowing and implementing the restrictions of the C.U.P.

     Mr. Richards further compounds and confirms the Division's lack of understanding of the C.U.P. conditions in that same April 2, 2007 memo to Kim Rodriguez noted above, by failing to accurately cite the restrictions on traffic through Ojai, instead stating only that there is much public hostility to the mine.

     On April 30, 2007 – responding in an email to Nao Braverman and myself – with copies forwarded to Patrick Richards and Kim Rodriguez, Manager of the Planning Division, as well as several other staff in Supervisor Bennett’s office and the City of Ojai, Scott Ellison repeats the canard worked into the 2003 Approval Letter.

     In other words, the Planning Division treats their apocryphal schedule as a given and then goes out of its way to defend it in the press and public.

     Later that same day, April 30, Patrick Richards, “upon review of public comments…” issues a letter from the Planning Department announcing that the Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) is being withdrawn, to be replaced by a full EIR. He states:

     “The existing project has a 3:00am start time to load trucks. The MND indicates the project would have a 6:00am start time. However the applicant is requesting a 4:30am start time. This results in truck trips occurring earlier in the morning that are assumed in the MND. The impacts of these earlier trips have not been evaluated.”

     Mr. Richards’ statement seems innocuous enough except for the fact that the schedule on page 9 of the MND does not call for a 6:00am start. There is no evidence of a request to move it to 4:30am, nor would a supposed start time 1-1/2 hours later require an evaluation of impacts given that the impacts would be less.

     Once gain Mr. Richards is off the mark, but it gets worse…

     In August of 2007, Ojai resident John Broesamle (former president of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and supporter of the Stop the Trucks! Coalition) and I each filed written complaints. Mr. Broesamle’s complaint was said to be “lost” and remained without a response until he personally called the Division for a follow up, almost five months later, in January 2008. On the other hand, my complaint was summarily rejected by Pat Richards before he even evaluated case facts from a written response by John Hecht (environmental consultant to the Ozena Ranch Mine) submitted on August 30, 2007. Mr. Hecht's response and the enclosed weigh tickets raised additional questions about trucks running out of hours, weights being hand written and times being possibly manipulated. Mr. Richards inquired about these but never followed up. In February we requested a formal reopening of the process along with two months of weigh tickets and billing records. Four-months later, we were handed Mr. Richards' two-page "investigation" that we are now rejecting.

     Adding insult to injury, Kim Rodriguez, in her December 21, 2007 letter to Mr. Bergman, actually encouraged Ozena to appeal her ruling that the C.U.P. will be strictly enforce. Ms. Rodriguez was later over-ruled by County Counsel who determined that there can be no appeal because, in fact, what Ozena would be appealing is the very C.U.P. conditions that they, themselves, had already agreed to and had supposedly been operating under for eight years.

     Having been denied an appeal of the C.U.P., the lawyers for Ozena have now filed a "Verified Petition for a Writ of Mandamus," to get their conditions changed.

     Given the Division's history on this C.U.P., would it be out-of-line to wonder if, in fact, they were encouraged to do so by county officials? I sincerely hope not.

     None of this would amount to much except for the ongoing impacts to the Ojai Valley – which can not be reversed or repaired. The original C.U.P. expired in 2006. While its renewal is debated, the failures of the Planning Division to follow CEQA and properly monitor compliance have not only increased the number and hours of trucking, but have also increased onerous air and noise pollution; furthered road bed damage; diminished the quality of life and property values of all those who live along the Route 33 corridor; increased the odds of accidents on all stretches of Route 33; and opened up the County to civil liability and litigation. It is only due to the collapse of a portion of Highway 33 adjacent to Wheeler Hot Springs and the current economic down-turn that has more recently handed the Ojai Valley an unanticipated respite from any increase of mine truck transports degrading our environment, health and safety. However, the citizens of Ojai cannot continue to count on Mother Nature or domestic and/or world market conditions to preserve and safeguard our valley.

     The entire economy of the Ojai Valley is built upon three legs: Tourism, the Arts, and Education. Like a three-legged stool, if any one of these legs are degraded, there’s a profoundly negative effect on the entire structure. Turning the Ojai Valley into what would inevitably become a de facto industrial trucking transportation zone would have a catastrophic impact on our economy by threatening and degrading both the valley’s environmental health, its safety and welfare, and the overall ambiance that is the very foundation for why Tourism, Education and the Arts are the fuels that power our town’s economic well-being and way of life. This is why there is such wide-spread, grass-roots, civic and governmental support for keeping Ojai just the way it is. Indeed, if the numerous rock and gravel mines located in the Los Padres Forest and either now in operation or about to come on line wish to deliver their product throughout Ventura County, mandate that they take the alternative and safer route via Lockwood Valley Road connecting with the I-5 and Route 126 to the Ventura Freeway. If that is so mandated, this conflict will immediately evaporate.

     We respectfully ask you to immediately investigate this matter and to take all appropriate actions necessary. It has become painfully clear that neither the staff, administration of the Resource Management Agency or the Planning Division, are going to police themselves. The citizens of Ventura County should not have to suffer the burdens created by the intransigence and/or incompetence of public employees. 

Thank you.

PLANNING COMMISSION BANS GRAVEL TRUCK TRAFFIC ON SCENIC HIGHWAY 33 FROM DIAMOND ROCK MINE

Move Protects Ojai Valley and Los Padres National Forest From as Many as 138 Truck Trips Per Day

Concerns Remain Over Permanency of Ban and Other Proposed Mines in the Cuyama Valley

Left:  8:05 AM, turning from Signal St. onto Ojai Avenue, in front of the Movie Theater.

     Santa Maria, Calif. – Last week, a unanimous Santa Barbara County Planning Commission moved one step closer to permanently protecting the Ojai Valley, the Los Padres National Forest, and Scenic Highway 33 from as many as 138 daily gravel truck trips to and from the proposed Diamond Rock Mine in the Cuyama Valley. The Commission voted 4-0 to approve the Diamond Rock Sand and Gravel Mine and Processing Facility, planned for the remote Cuyama Valley in Santa Barbara County near the Ventura County Line.

     In approving the mine, the Commission voted to temporarily ban any gravel truck traffic on Route 33 through Ojai to and from that mine. The move comes in response to efforts by the Stop the Trucks Coalition, Los Padres ForestWatch, and hundreds of residents concerned about the health, safety, and environmental impacts of increased gravel truck traffic along this narrow two-lane mountain road.

     “At least for the time being, this ban gives us partial relief from our legitimate, ongoing concerns that turning Scenic Highway 33 and the town of Ojai into an industrialized heavy trucking transportation zone would have significant and lasting impacts on both the air quality of the Ojai Valley while also unnecessarily risking the lives, health, safety and welfare of the thousands of folks who use this route,” said Michael Shapiro, chair of the Stop the Trucks! Coalition.

     “We’re pleased that the County and the applicant finally recognized what we’ve been saying all along – that Scenic Highway 33 is not suitable as an industrial trucking route,” said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit organization working to protect the national forest and an active participant in the Stop the Trucks Coalition. “The wild landscapes, quiet solitude, and scenic vistas of the Los Padres National Forest are safe for now.”

     When initially proposed in 2006, the mine applicants proposed to send as many as 138 daily truck trips to and from the mine along Scenic Highway 33 through the Ojai Valley and the Los Padres National Forest. The trucks would rumble along the narrow, winding mountain road, passing directly by popular swimming holes, campgrounds, hiking trails, wilderness areas, and a ten-mile stretch of Sespe Creek, recommended for protection under the federal Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. Once in Ojai, the trucks would pass by hundreds of residences and several schools in this small valley whose economy is heavily dependent on tourism.

     When added to existing truck traffic, this truck traffic would have resulted in one truck every four minutes during peak production, according to the Environmental Impact Report for the mine.

     However, in approving Condition 34 to the mine’s permit, the Commission effectively avoided these significant impacts. Condition 34 bans all truck traffic from the Diamond Rock mine, stating: “Truck traffic to and from the Diamond Rock project site shall be prohibited through Ojai,” including the Los Padres National Forest. The condition also specifies that these trucks shall not be re-routed in other directions, essentially resulting in a 20% decrease in mining operations.

     The Diamond Rock mine must still secure permits from other state and federal agencies. There is also a ten-day period following yesterday’s Commission action for project opponents, including residents of the Cuyama Valley, to appeal the project based on groundwater, air pollution, and quality of life issues.

     While celebrating this hard-fought victory, ForestWatch and the Coalition remain concerned that the mining company can apply to lift the trucking ban anytime in the future. ForestWatch and the Coalition will continue to demand that the ban remains permanent as the project winds its way through the County appeal process.

     “We believe that the environmental impact report fails to adequately analyze Highway 33 to determine its long-term safety and efficacy for wide spread industrial utilization,” said Michael Shapiro, chair of the Stop the Trucks! Coalition. “Until and unless the current EIR establishes a permanent ban on such utilization – with adequate redress if such a ban is ever lifted – the Coalition will remain proactive in opposing any such utilization, anytime in the future.”

     In addition to Diamond Rock, two existing sand and gravel mines also on the Cuyama River – the Ozena Sand & Gravel mine and the GPS River Rock Products mine – are seeking to dramatically expand their operations, as well as one new mine just downstream of the Diamond Rock facility. If approved, these mines could send hundreds of additional trucks through Ojai and the Los Padres National Forest. Hearings and environmental documents for these mines are scheduled to begin later this summer.

Contact: Michael Shapiro, Stop the Trucks Coalition, (805) 889-7105
Jeff Kuyper, ForestWatch, (805) 617-4610 x11

2008 Ozena Analysis
January 27, 2008

 Executive Summary:  

     Over the past few weeks we have received and reviewed numerous documents and reports relating to the Ozena Valley Mine Project that have a direct bearing on the viability and legal status of this C.U.P.

     This analysis is aimed at giving a preliminary overview of the entire project as it impacts the citizens of the Ojai Valley.

     It is the belief of this author based on the analysis that follows that the Ozena Valley Mine has been in repeated and regular non-compliance with the existing C.U.P. and that the documentation previously used to assess compliance fails to meet any legal standard of sufficiency.

     This analysis concludes that based on this preliminary review there appears to be good cause to terminate the existing C.U.P. and deny the application for a further modification.

     What we find is numerous inconsistencies in many of the following, including: 

1)  The application for a project modification;
2)  The manner in which the Ozena Mine operators have interpreted the existing regulations and guidelines;
3)  The manner in which the Ozena operators report compliance with those guidelines;
4) The documentation alleging compliance that has been provided to the Ventura County Planning Division;
5)  And the analysis of that documentation provided by the mine operator in regards compliance. 

 There is also a question about ownership rights: 
6) Does the current applicant, Tony Virgilio, have the legal right to make this application due to the death of the purported owner of the land and mine, Mike Virgilio.  As of January 24^, 2008, no one at the Planning Division had seen any legal documents indicating who might be the rightful heirs to the land to which the CUP is attached. 

     Without proper documentation there is no way to know who rightfully speaks for the new owner(s) and that owner(s) could theoretically be anyone, from the proverbial “Aunt Tilley in Topeka,” to Mike’s son, Stephen.  Stephen Virgilio was arrested last year after an ATF raid on his father’s gun stores in Compton and Oak View on a federal criminal complaint that alleges Stephen sold firearms and ammunition to straw buyers who were purchasing the weapons on behalf of convicted felons and other prohibited persons.

     Our legal consultants are of the opinion that the Planning Division should cease all communications with anyone who purports to represent the mine operation until such time as their legal authority to do so is established and properly confirmed in writing. 

7) Has the applicant, who is also proposing to excavate a new pond, effectively tripling the size of their mining operation as part of an Aquaculture CUP, complied with both the existing 2005 agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game and the terms of the CUP?  According to Natasha Lohmus of that department in a January 22, 2008 email, “We are going to go over the reveg plan and why they did not comply last year.” 

 A list of all the documents reviewed and/or referenced is at the end of this analysis.

 Analysis:

      In Kim Rodriguez’s response letter of January 17, 2008 to Scott Eicher of “Stop the Trucks,” she makes several key declarations and acknowledgements. First that although there was some past confusion among department staff as to the interpretation of the hours listed in  the 2003 CUP Modification #1 of 2003, the Planning Division has determined that Condition 72 (Days and Hours of Operation) will be enforced using a strict and literal reading of the conditions which prohibit “All Project Related Travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Springs and the City of Ojai on weekdays at any time other than 6:00am to 7:00 am and 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturdays from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm.

      Ms. Rodriguez goes on further to indicate that if Ozena was in regular and routine violation of the CUP that the Department would take appropriate action against the mine, beginning with a hearing before the Planning Commission to either modify, suspend, or revoke the permit for cause.  If corrective action were not taken it is unlikely that the Planning dependent staff would recommend approval of the CUP Modification Request to the Planning Commission.

      The Planning Division implements reasonable and feasible conditions that can be enforced and uses techniques that are considered the best to fulfill that objective.

     In Ms. Rodriguez’s September 27^th letter to Howard Smith (prepared by Pat Richards) the department denies Mr. Smith’s complaint (and that of John Broesamle) of early morning and late afternoon CUP truck violations by citing the weigh tickets provided to the Planning Department by Ozena. 

     Weigh tickets, created and distributed by the mine operators appear to be the sole tool used by the department to monitor truck traffic.

     The real question then is simply this:  Are the weigh tickets a valid and reliable tool for this purpose?

     After an analysis of the weigh tickets found in the Division’s Ozena Complaint File, we believe the use of self-prepared weigh tickets is not valid.  It is a method in which the results seemingly can be manipulated at will by the mine operator and may result in fraud or misrepresentation of the facts.

     For example: For August 14^th, John Hecht of West Coast Environmental & Engineering working on behalf of the applicant provided the department with a list of 11 trips and their respective weigh tickets. 

 (It should be noted that Hecht and West Coast also prepared all the analysis of the Troesh Diamond Rock Mine Proposal in Santa Barbara.)

      The first three tickets, items 11118, 11119 and 11120 had punch clock times indicating that all three 80,000 pound double hopper gravel trucks were:

 1)  All weighed empty;
 2)  Filled manually by a skip loader;
 3)  And then weighed again within three minutes of each other.

Even a casual observer would probably conclude this is a physical impossibility. 

 4)  Also, the amount of gravel loaded in 11118 and 11119 was in both cases, exactly 57,540 pounds.  Getting a skip loader to fill twin hoppers on two separate trucks down to the identical pound is also probably a physical impossibility. 

 5)  In the afternoon we have the same issue with two trucks, tickets 11127 and 11128.  Both had punch clock times indicating that both 80,000 pound double hopper gravel trucks were weighed empty; filled manually by a skip loader and then weighed again with in two minutes of each other. Both come up with an identical gross weight to the very pound, 80,000 each.  Again the odds of this occurring are virtually impossible, especially given that one truck was supposedly loaded with 3/8ths gravel and the other with 1” rock.

 6)  On ticket 11122 we have the weights being “Hand Written” in instead of being punch stamped as on the other ten tickets.

 7)  It appears then that the information on these weigh tickets can be manipulated at will by the mine operator.  Clearly they fail the test as the evidentiary basis for any claims, pro or con. 

 8)  Furthermore, we have no evidence that these were all the tickets for that day.  In his cover letter to Pat Richards, Mr. Hecht carefully parses his words to say “…please find attached weigh tickets from August 14, 2007.”  Although Hecht then claims that all of the trips for the tickets he did enclose fall within the approved hours of operation, he makes no claim that these were the only tickets for that day. 

 9)  We have no evidence from the day before or the day after to review the sequence of numbers and no way of confirming that these 11 trips were the only ones on August 14^th. 

 10)  Finally, a reasonable person might conclude that there is no way the Planning Division could have adequately determined whether the observations that Mr. Broesamle and Mr. Smith independently made that day were correct or not. 

 11)  Despite the fact that the gravel truck issue is a highly contentious one, the dismissal of the complaints by two highly respected citizens was clearly unfounded and casts aspersion on their respective characters.

 12)  Given that the very fate of the Ozena permit and renewal rests in part upon the question of whether or not there are in violation of their existing CUP, the use of highly suspect weigh tickets is not only debatable but fails to meet any reasonable legal standard.

 13)  Concerns about the Ozena operation were previously raised by Howard Smith in his June letter to Chief Deputy DA Jeffrey Bennett when he asked for an investigation into possible criminal behavior.

      In his response to Mr. Smith’s complaint, DA Bennett took the same position that Ms. Rodriguez stated above, that the schedule in item 72 was to be interpreted strictly.  Trucks outside the stated times would clearly be in violation.

 14)  Although County officials have been rather clear about this to date, it appears from various correspondence and permit applications that Ozena continues to interpret these rules differently, so differently in fact that they may well have been operating in regular and continuous violation of the CUP all along. 

 15)  Again, let’s go back to the weigh tickets of August 14, 2007.  In his analysis of John Hecht’s letter of September 11, 2007, and the accompanying 11 weigh tickets, Mr. Richards astutely notices that four of the 11 trips that day (36% of the trips) likely had to pass through Ojai either coming or going to the mine during restricted hours. 

 (Again, think about this, 36% of the trips on a day when supposedly only 11 trips were made and documented, were in possible violation.)

 This is in addition to the five truck trips going north that day between 3 am and 5 am, and the three truck trips witnessed that afternoon by Mr. Smith; and the two double hopper trucks witnessed by Mr. Broesamle near the mine between 3:30 am and 6:30 am on the 14^th.

 Mr. Richards writes to Mr. Hecht and asks for an explanation. 

 16)  Mr. Hecht’s response of October 10, 2007, is not only enlightening into the thinking of the Ozena operators, he also lays the ground work for the proposals in the recently received CUP Modification Request #2 that essentially dismisses the existing guidelines.  His remarks can only been seen as misguided and in clear violation of Condition #72.

 16-a)  In his first paragraph, Mr. Hecht asserts that in regards Condition 72, that he believes that the only conditions imposed are “are directional.  (i.e. traffic is only restricted southbound between 7 and 9 in the morning and northbound after 3 pm.)

 Hecht goes on in his next paragraph to assert this “directional” defense for both the possible morning and afternoon trips. 

 16-b)  In the CUP Modification #2 that was just received, Hecht guts the old Condition #72 and replaces it with his “directional” language, which he describes as merely a “clarification.”

 16-c)  In his second defense of these probable violations, he also repeats another canard, that Ozena has no control over the truckers who come to the mine – this despite that fact that elsewhere Ozena acknowledges that most of its regular daily deliveries are transported by either Valley Bulk trucks to the batch plant in Oxnard or by Swader Trucking for local Ojai delivers.  Given that these are regular ongoing contracts, it stretches credibility to say any business can not influence the firms that come and deliver it’s product on a daily basis for what is now almost seven straight years.

 The applicant even directly contradicts himself and goes so far as to assert control over trucks when he states in Condition #5.1 of the Modification #2: “Therefore, the Applicant is proposing to limit AM deliveries through Ojai such that no more than 8 trucks will be loaded during that time that will pass through the Ojai Valley to the south.  All trucks passing through Ojai during this time will be of a recent model year with low noise characteristics.”

 16-d)  In his third defense of Ozena’s possible violations, Hecht then, incredulously attempts to cite Google Maps as a source for the length of time it takes for an 80,000 double hopper gravel truck to travel the 46+ miles from the mine to the end of Casitas Springs (the restricted zone).  Hecht uses a time of 1 hour and 11 minutes; which ignores the fact that you have huge trucks coming down a mountain road with over a dozen hairpin turns followed by heavy traffic and stop lights in the Ojai Valley itself.

 This contradicts an internal Planning Division memo of January 25^th, 2007 in which a member of the Planning Division actually drove up and down the mountain in a car – not a fully loaded truck – and ascertained that it would require a minimum of one hour and 30 minutes to make that same trip.  The time differences are significant as it would have put those last two trips of August 14^th in the Ojai Valley during restricted times – and that’s presuming the weigh tickets were accurate, a fact we can clearly no longer take for granted.  Those may well have been the trips spotted that day by Mr. Smith.

 16-e)  That same memo of January 25^th also notes that Tony Virgilio contracts with “Valley Bulk” to ship to a batch plant in Oxnard daily and that Valley Bulk typically assigns between 3 and 5 trucks to make THREE round trips between Ozena and Oxnard every day.

 Do the math: If the run from Casitas Spring to Oxnard is another half hour, then one could safely calculate that travel alone one way from Ozena to the mine takes in excess of two hours with round trips taking four hours.  Three trips a day per truck equates to 12 hours per day per truck and that does not include time to load, unload, lunch, refueling or even bathroom breaks.  There is no way Ozena can legally be doing this day in and day out for many years without having trucks violating the restricted hours, which come to only seven per day.

 16-f)  Hecht’s fourth defense is to then claim that the Planning Department staff have agreed and approved his interpretation of his first defense, that of directional limits only. He tries to bolster this claim by citing “verbal concurrence from staff” and work on an early draft of the CUP Modification #2 that were discussed but – importantly – never approved that would have allowed trucks to travel north in violation of Condition #72.

 16-g) Hecht’s fifth defense is also somewhat specious. He claims that when the mine was cited for violations in 2006, they were not cited for all the violations they had in fact incurred – which is a bit like a criminal committing “Assault and Battery” while committing a “Robbery” but only being charged for “Robbery” and acting as if laws against “Assault and Battery” no longer apply to him in the future.

 16-h)  Last but most important of all is Hecht’s sixth defense and here in lies the crux of the entire matter.  He states in that October letter, “The applicant has relied on the county’s staff’s previous actions and interpretations in operating the project.  If staff positions on Condition 72 changes and the limitations become absolute and bi-directional, it will severely harm the applicant and render this project un-economic.”

 Conclusions & Action Steps:

 A)  Not only is Ozena trying to shift blame onto the department for any possible non-compliance, they have clearly put themselves in a double bind:   

 B)  If Ozena has been running a successful and economically viable operation for seven years without violating the terms of the CUP, there is no need for them to expand the scope of their operations or change the limitations on hours as proposed in the new Modification #2.

 C)  If on the other hand they have been economically viable only because they have been interpreting the CUP in their own (and unjustified) manner), then it is clear that they have been in violation of the terms of the original CUP and Modification #1 and they should have their permit terminated and the request for Modification #2 denied.

 D)  Based on this analysis and prior to any Planning Division EIR of Modification #2, there should be a thorough, open and public  investigation of whether or not Ozena has in fact complied with the existing CUP conditions. 

 E)  The review should include at a minimum 2 continuous months worth of weigh tickets and billing records for the same time period.  Preferably these tickets should be from July and August of 2007 and should specifically include the days immediately before and after the August 14^th Complaints.  Although we have raised serious questions about the credibility of the weigh tickets, obtaining two months worth along with financial data such as billing records for the same time period should enable a credible analyst to determine if in fact there was true compliance.

 F)  If in fact the operators are found to be out of compliance, proceedings should be initiated to immediately suspend their current permit and deny their request for Modification #2 and the Aquaculture CUP.

 G)  There should be a review by Planning Division staff and County Counsel, if needed, to assess the ownership rights of Tony Virgilio.  If found lacking, the permits should be denied.

 H)  There should be a review by California Fish and Game to determine compliance with that agreement and again, if found lacking all permits should be terminated and/or denied.

 I)  Should the Mine be found in compliance then better means for reasonable and feasible monitoring of the mine operation must be implemented at the operator’s cost.  This should include cameras not only at the mine but also in Casitas Springs, in Ojai and at the junction of Lockwood Valley Road and Route 33. Cameras should be accessible online by the public with digital back ups for every day archived by the County for later review.  Under no circumstances should the cameras be under the control of the operator.

 J)  The “Stop the Trucks” Coalition should be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary, including legal action to insure that a full review as noted in B) – H) occur as soon as possible and prior to any other consideration of the Ozena permits.

 Documents Review and those Cited Above:

 1)         Letter, January 17,2008, from Kim Rodriguez, Planning Director of the Ventura County Planning Department, to Scott Eicher, Chair of the “Stop the Trucks” in response to the Coalition’s 15 questions to the department.

 2)         Letter, October 10, 2007, from John Hecht, President of West Coast Environmental and Engineering on behalf of the Ozena Mine, to Patrick Richards, Manager of the Commercial Industrial Section of the Ventura County Planning Department in response to Mr. Richards letter of September 11, 2007.

 3)         Letter, September 11, 2007 from Patrick Richards to John Hecht asking for clarification of Hecht’s response to Alleged Violations of the CUP on August 14^, 2007.

 4)         Letter, August 30, 2007 from Hecht to Richards in response to alleged violations of the CUP 5170.

 5)         Letter, September 27, 2007, from Kim Rodriguez but signed by Patrick Richards to Howard Smith in response to his complaint regarding the Ozena CUP on August 14, 2007.

 6)         Letter, August 19, 2007, from Howard Smith, Ojai resident, to Kim Rodriguez, complaining about possible CUP violations on August 14, 2008.

 7)          Complaint Form, August 17, 2007 by John Broesamle, Ojai resident to the Planning Department regarding possible CUP violations on August 14, 2008.

 8)          Letter, September 13, 2007, from Ventura County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Jeffrey Bennett to Howard Smith about allegations of possible criminal activities in regards the Ozena CUP.

 9)          Letter, June 23, 2007, from Howard Smith to Jeffrey Bennett, about allegations of possible criminal activities in regards the Ozena CUP.

 10)        CUP 5170 Modification Request Number 2, January 2, 2008, submitted by Tony Virgilio and prepared by West Coast Environmental & Engineering.

 11)        CUP 5170 Modification Number 1 of June 13, 2003.

 12)         Planning Division Memo, “January 25, 2007, “Early Morning Truck Runs Through the Ojai Valley,”

 13)         Agreement Memo, December 19, 2005, California Department of Fish and Game, 1600-2005-254-R5

 14)        CUP Request, January 2, 2008, Ozena Valley Ranch Aquaculture, LU04-0072

 15)        E-mail, January 22, 2008, from Natasha Lohmus, Environmental Scientist, CA. Dept of Fish & Game to Steve Offerman at the request of “Stop the Trucks”

Ojai, CA 93023
W:805-278-3645
August 19, 2007

Kim Rodriguez, Planning Director
County of Ventura
Planning Division
800 South Victoria Ave,
Ventura, CA 93009

Dear Kim Rodriguez:

     Please consider this letter my formal complaint regarding C.U.P violations in the operation of gravel trucks in conjunction with the Ozena Valley Sand and Gravel Mine owned and operated by Michael Virgilio of Huntington Beach, California.

     Ozena’s violations are on such a massive level, that we believe that their permit should be immediately rescinded.

     In the Ozena C.U.P. from 2003, Item #72 specifically set “Days & Hours of Operation.”  All project related travel on Highway 33 between Casitas Springs and the City of Ojai (Mon. – Fri) was restricted to 6:00am to 7:00am and from 9:00am to 3:00pm.  Total hours of all truck hours through Ojai come to seven hours.  On Saturday trucking is limited from 6:00am to 5:00pm, a total of 11 hours.

     On Monday, August 14^th of this year, I personally witnessed multiple violations of the C.U.P. on at least three separate occasions. 

      Round One: I was awoken by a gravel truck heading north through Ojai on Route 33 just north of El Roblar at 2:55am.  Staying awake for the next two hours I saw four more heading north.  Two were of the red and white type that Valley Bulk uses with Ozena.  The others were the double hopper dump truck style used by Ortiz Trucking and Cardenas Trucking.  My observations of these trucks were later confirmed by John Broesamly  of Ojai, who spent the early hours of the morning truck spotting just outside the Ozena facility in Cuyama.

     Round Two: Leaving Ojai at 7:00am via Route 33 South on my way to work in Oxnard I saw one loaded truck from Cardenas heading south and spotted three more heading north.  Two were Valley Bulk, the other was from Ortiz.  These vehicles were all in violation of the next blackout period (7-9am).

     Round Three: On my way home from work,  I entered Casitas Springs at 3:45pm and spotted one empty truck from Cardenas heading north and saw two more loaded double hopper type trucks heading south. These trucks were of the style used by Ozena in their own website photos which apparently have absolutely no corporate markings on them, a seemingly common practice.  These were also during a black out period for Ozena, which is not allowed to ship in either direction through Ojai after 3:00pm on weekdays.

      Although these violations were recorded on a single day, in fact they could have been recorded on any single weekend since Route 33 was reopened after the Day Fire. 

     Despite the fact that since March of 2007, the Ojai “Stop the Trucks” Coalition has sent over 35 public letters and emails to Mr. Ellison and that there have been over 25 news stories about the gravel truck situation, the department has apparently informed Supervisor Bennett that there has only been one complaint against Ozena last year and that it was supposedly investigated. 

     These news stories have appeared in the LA Times, the Ventura County Star, the Ojai Valley News, the Pacific Coast Business Times, the Ventura Reporter, the Santa Barbara News Press, the Santa Barbara Independent,; and the Santa Maria Times.  Additionally the Ventura Planning Department staff was sent copies of over 350 letters complaining about trucks that were originally sent to the Santa Barbara Planning Commission along with a copy of an Ojai City Council meeting in January of 2007 in which dozens of citizens complained about truck operations.

     That any intelligent public employee would consider Ozena’s violations non-existent, minimal or a non-issue, is too ludicrous to be given any credibility at all.  That, we the citizens of the Ojai Valley are forced to do the monitoring of a permit issued by the County, also borders on the absurd.   

     The constant violation of the hours of trucking has created an intolerable situation for the residents of the Ojai Valley.  It has increased the not only the number and hours of trucking, but has potentially increased air pollution and noise pollution; diminished the quality of life and property values of all those who live along the Route 33 corridor; increased the odds of accidents on all stretches of Route 33; perhaps inflated the profits of Mr. Virgilio and possible others and opened up the County to civil liability lawsuits.

     Further, the Ozena mining operation is now in ongoing and massive violation of their C.U.P. for regularly running trucks at hours outside the limits.  There exists no reason for them to even be in business now while they are awaiting the EIR process.  Given the enormity of their violations it is inappropriate that they would even be considered for a new C.U.P.

     I respectfully ask you to investigate this matter and to take appropriate actions that lead to a termination of the Ozena C.U.P.

 Sincerely,

 Howard Smith

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