SIMI VALLEY : Planners Approve Quarry Expansion

The Ventura County Planning Commission has approved an 800-acre expansion of a sand and gravel quarry about three miles north of Simi Valley, a Planning Department official said Friday.

The commission voted 4 to 1 Thursday in favor of the application by P.W. Gillebrand Co. for the company to nearly triple the size of its 317-acre mining operation over the next 28 years, County Planner Kelly Scoles said. Commissioner Johnie Carlisle dissented.

The new operating permit will expire in October, 2020, she said.

No local residents or environmentalists voiced opposition to the expansion of the mine, which has operated since 1965 on Bennett Road off Tapo Canyon Road, Scoles said. But there was disagreement between the commission and the Planning Department staff over what amount of bond the company should put up to guarantee restoration of the quarried site, she said.

Staff members had recommended that Gillebrand put up a $325,000 bond for the first 130 acres of the expanded quarry. If the company defaults on its agreement to restore the quarried land by planting grasses and shrubs, the county will use the bond money for the work. The company proposed a bond of only $84,240. The commission decided to require Gillebrand to post a $217,000 bond, Scoles said.