Peebles Invitational: What Went Down

The Peebles Invitational at Pedro Point Firehouse on June 19 was hosted by PBRG (Pacifica Business for Responsible Government: Better Pacifica). Peebles V.P. Daniel Grimm and his land use attorney Tim Tosta presented an update on the status of the Rockaway Quarry property. Tosta, known for successfully guiding development projects through the Coastal Commission, presented a slide show of historical data, topographical maps, and photos.

The gist of his message was that the Quarry has been greatly disturbed over the years by quarrying activities, and no longer resembles its original "natural" state. He also said that the State will require substantial portions of the property to be reclaimed, necessitating removal of mega-quantities of earth.

Tosta told the audience that his research on the site will take at least another three months. He is beginning preliminary meetings with Coastal Commission staff to understand the regulatory constraints (something many of us in the environmental community advised Peebles to do more than a year ago, before going to the ballot.)

Tosta also said it will be three years before permits could be obtained for any project. He emphasized that this is a "work in progress" and that it is premature to discuss what type of project can be built until all the issues are thoroughly analyzed, and he has a better understanding of which portions of the site can be developed.

When asked about the results of the habitat and endangered-species study that Peebles commissioned last year, Tosta was a bit cagey, saying only that the report wasn't as elaborate as he wanted and was rather "skinny" in certain respects.

Tosta gave the audience another message:  Everyone needs to "think outside the box" and make some compromises, or it is unlikely there will ever be a project built in the Quarry. Time will tell.

DINAH VERBY

Comments

[Larry Rosenstein]

I am most amused by the statement:

"it is premature to discuss what type of project can be built until all the issues are thoroughly analyzed, and he has a better understanding of which portions of the site can be developed"

given that last fall Peebles insisted that that the "plan" he presented was the project that would be built. This confirms my belief that the promises he made had no substance behind them.

[todd bray]

I have a copy of the reclamation plan from the State Mining Board. It details the physical work to be done and how it is to be achieved. The reclamation plan requires Coastal Commission approval before it can be implemented. Having the earthmoving equipment roaming around the environmentally sensitive habitat area may or may not be an issue for the Coastal Commission.

The work to be done calls for earthmoving equipment to reshape the berm and scarred hillsides to more resemble a ridgeline that flows to the ocean. The plan considers the 34-acre flat area to be reclaimed already. Pacifica is lead agency for the reclamation plan, and contends the reclamation will be part of a development plan. The reclamation plan contradicts Pacifica's position and requires the quarry to be reclaimed before a development plan can be submitted to the City Planning Department.

In Sacramento at the offices of the State Mining and Geology Board there are three large folders that contain a vast amount of information on the quarry, including Trammell Crow's EIR. As of July 1, 2007, Dan Grimm owes the Mining Board an annual report on the status of the quarry. Until it is reclaimed or "abandoned," the quarry operator Rockaway Beach LLC is required by the Conservation Act to submit annual reports on the quarry operation, even if it is suspended.

Because Pacifica was given back lead status from the State when Peebles Co. bought a reclamation completion bond (the $1.3 million financial assurance bond Peebles boasted of posting with the SMGB), this annual report is to be filed with the City also. The local person in charge of oversight is City Planner Michael Crabtree. Financial assurance completion bonds are insurance policies so the $1.3 million bond Peebles Co. purchased was well below $100,000.

Failure to submit an annual report is an actionable offense. But it would take a private citizen's complaint to initiate enforcement. The State Mining and Geology Board can be reached by phone, or visit them online at the state conservation department's Web site.