HomeMy WebLinkAbout37-Public Comment Entered into Record at
CQUn�i;�t;t,f s r��rr�s PAN:
June 1. 2007
by
Supervisor Dennis Hansberger re Agenda Item �
385 North Arrowhead Avenue. Firth floor
San Bernardino, CA 92416-0110
._ City Secy
Dear Supervisor Hansber .er. City ut Saii ber rardin
o -
I reside in the North end of the City of San Bernardino at the corner of Valencia and 40`h
Street. I have an issue with the current operations that are occurring in the Twin Creeks
Flood Control Basin and the Waterman Spreading Grounds that I hope you can do
something to resolve. They have been removing the sand, gravel and rocks from the
basin and spreading grounds following the Old Fire of 2003 and the subsequent flooding
in late 2003 and early 2004. I understand the need to remove the material from the basins
for future flood protection. However, we have suffered from the noise and dust from the
400-500 semi-truck loads of material per day being removed from the area for the past
three and half years. Trucks have been running as early as 4:30 in the morning and there
appears to be no mitigation measures for the noise, constant dust and sand particle issues.
I attended a North End Neighbor Hood (NENA) meeting on May -23). 2007. NENA had
invited Annesley Ignatius. Assistant Director of Flood Control to the meeting to address
the neighborhoods concerns about he dust. noise and damage to the roadway surface from
the trucks hauling material. Mr. Ignatius told us the basin has been cleaned out and they
now are "mining" the remaining material which is covered under a Permit. If the basin is
cleaned up, why in the world do the people living in the area have to put up with this
untenable situation? I asked Mr. Ignatius what mitigation measures the County is
requiring the Permittee to eliminate the dust and noise issues and he never responded to
my question. There has been no street sweeping or other dust abatement on 40`x' Street
during this entire hauling period. Also, it would occur to me that since the County is
being paid for the material that is being removed, the Permittee should be required to
abate the environmental issues they are causing.
I am also aware of the Metropolitan Water District of So. California's Inland Feeder
Tunnel operation that requires hauling material from the tunnel project. I've been in
contact with MWD and County Flood Control on these issues for the past couple of
years. Unfortunately, both agencies blame each other and nothing is being done to abate
these issues. I can sweep 2 to three coffee cans of sand out of the gutter in front of my
house weekly and dust my patio furniture which is covered in dust again the next day.
I'm hoping you can assist me and my neighbors in getting these environmental issues
resolved. I have a couple of questions relative to the "permitted mining operation".
It would seem to me when the operation changed from removal of the material in the
basin to the "mining' operation, that an Environmental Analysis would be required to
meet the California Environmental Quality Act since this can no longer be construed as
flood control basin maintenance. This would also require the notification of adjacent
property owners which to my knowledge never occurred.
/y/o 7
I would be happy to discuss this with members of your staff and I would greatly
appreciate any assistance you can provide in resolving these issues. I can be reached at
home 909-886-2666 or cell 909-725-1446. Thanking you in advance for any assistance
you can provide to me and our neighborhood.
Sincerely.
ELLIOTT L. GRAHAM
699 East 40`x' Street
San Bernardino, CA 92040
cc: Pat Morris, Mayor. City of San Bernardino
Wendy McCamack, Councilwoman, City of San Bernardino
Tames Penman, City Attorney, City of San Bernardino