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| OPINION: Gravel Pits that Don't Fit |
| Charles Sands | 7/21/10 |
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It was good to meet with Daily Post editor Bill Hudson a couple of weeks ago and I continue to read his articles with great interest particularly with regard to the proposed Eagle Mountain Gravel Pit. I particularly liked his opening statement for the July 8 article wherein he quoted attorney Peggy Montano re: "dust".
I cannot however understand how statements of this nature can be ignored by the Pagosa Chamber of Commerce, local realtors and [gravel pit developer] Mr. Smith himself for that matter. Surely all of these groups or individuals have a vested interest in presenting Pagosa Springs in the best possible light — and not highlight the fact that people that are health-affected by dust should not live here!
All human beings and animals are "health-affected" by dust to one degree or another and have learned to take the proper precautions against excessive exposure. Dealing with gravel roads that can be relatively easily maintained with dust control measures taken as needed is one thing — but this is simply not possible for gravel pit operations, unless virtually all outdoor operations are controlled through continuous misting, and the rock crusher is located in a totally enclosed building (noise and dust).
The cost to meet the county and state regulations in this regard would in my view be prohibitive for this particular proposed site along Stevens Lake Rd. But may be feasible for other larger gravel deposits located on the Smith properties and at some distance from any private residents.
 With respect to the local realtors, it is private individuals such as ourselves that provided a good deal of their business in the past and if word now gets out (which it will) that no investment in large "secluded tracts" are safe, their future business could well be severely compromised, I believe. This is of course a land use issue, but I can assure you that none of us that bought property and built homes along Stevens Lake Road or the immediate area would have done so had not these very properties been zoned agriculture and ranching. The Dutton Ranch (owned by Thomas Smith) is in itself a "user" of Stevens Lake road for their current "ranching operations" and have a ROW for 3 residences and said "ranching operations".
I also understand that the previous owner(s) were reimbursed by PAWSD some time ago for the cost to relocate that portion of their road that would be affected by rising the water level of Stevens Lake. If this is indeed the case, I would suggest that this reimbursement would have included the cost for purchasing gravel elsewhere — and therefore their new found sense of urgency to have this gravel pit approved so that they can reconstruct this road or build a new road would appear to be "bogus" at best.
In addition to "local realtors", I am quite surprised that virtually all property owners (35 acres plus) in Archuleta County aren't outspokenly opposed to such potential violations of the County's Land Use Code. This could happen to anyone.
Finally, I would like to say that we Stevens Lake Road property owners have been quite reasonable with regard to supporting the various public utilities for the overall good of the community. In addition to the recent expansion of Stevens Reservoir by PAWSD, we have raised no objections to the rather unsightly 100,000 (est) water storage tank and pumping system. Nor have we taken issue with the substantial expansion of the electrical substation by LPEA.
Although unsightly these are considered "needed improvements for the overall good of the community" and are passive facilities that do not generate any noise or dust.
Thank you to Mr. Hudson for his continued efforts to disclose all the facts underling this "contentious issue".
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