The County of San Diego v. National Quarries, Inc.

Plaintiff County of San Diego alleged that National Quarries was operating in excess of its vested rights and that its operations must be reduced.

Plaintiff's Technical Expert Witnesses:
Dr. Howard Turner, Land Design Consultants, 199 S. Los Robles Ave, #250, Pasadena, CA 91101
Ed Ruzak, 10061 Talbert Ave, #200, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
M. William Tilden, 1202 Plum St, San Diego, CA 92106
Warren Coalson, Doug Molby, Enviromine, Inc., 3511 Camino del Rio South, 403, San Diego, CA 92108
Michael Pallamary, Pallamary & Associates, 7755 Fay Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037
Patrick Kennedy, LECG, 655 W. Broadway, #1300, San Diego, CA 92102

Defendant Insurance: Unknown at this time

Facts and Background:

National Quarries is a blue granite quarry in northern San Marcos.  Mined since the 1930's, it has been operated as National Quarries since 1941.  The blue granite found there is of exceptionally high quality and can be used for both industrial and decorative purposes.  From 1941 until 2000, the Johnson family operated the mine.  The sizes and types of granite product mined depended upon demand.

When the quarry opened, the County of San Diego did not have a zoning ordinance.  When that ordinance was adopted in 1957, it zoned the quarry property as agricultural.  The quarry operation became vested, or grandfathered, at that point and the operators acquired a constitutional right to operate the quarry and sell granite.  Identifying a crisis caused by localities closing mining operations as unpleasant neighbors, the State of California, in 1976, passed the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA).  SMARA protects vested mining operations by requiring local governments to take action to protect them rather than allowing them to be closed.  In return, the mining operation must comply with SMARA's reclamation requirements.  In keeping with SMARA's requirements, San Diego changed National Quarries' zoning to S82 Extractive Use.  An S82 use property can only engage in mining activities to the exclusion of all others.  That change brought this vested operation into conformance with the zoning.

Between 1941 and 2002, the number of residents in the area increased substantially.  In 1941, the quarry was the only resident in the area.  Now there is a country club with over a hundred homes and there are homes along North Twin Oaks Valley Road, the road upon which the quarry is located.  As residents began to move in, they expressed dissatisfaction with the mining operations as pertains to noise and dust.  The County consistently advised the residents that a vested mine could not be regulated or restricted by the County.

In 2000, John Petterson bought the quarry from the Johnsons.  He engaged a professional contractor, Wyroc, to produce and sell aggregate according to demand.  Wyroc's operations substantially began in 2002.  Due in part to a large 2004 contract with North San Diego County Transit related to construction of the Sprinter rail line, Wyroc's sales in 2005 and 2006 were substantial and the truck traffic on the road reflected that fact.  The residents complained to the County about the increase in traffic and noise.  The County began trying to find a way to drastically limit National Quarries' production.  After failing at other attempts, the County filed a lawsuit for a permanent injunction to limit operations.

Plaintiff's Contentions, Allegations:
Plaintiff County of San Diego alleged that National Quarries was operating in excess of its vested rights and that its operations must be reduced.

Defense:
National Quarries alleged that its vested right was to operate a surface mining operation and that that vested operation could not be regulated by the County.

Verdict or Award: After the County presented its case, without requiring National Quarries to open its case, the Court granted National Quarries' motion for judgment.

Length of Trial: 4 Days

Attorney for client: Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire, Vincent J. Bartolotta, Jr., Karen R. Frostrom, Aran Wong

Attorney for defendant: James Chapin, County Counsel, 1600 Pacific Highway #355, San Diego, CA 92101

Individual Defendants: National Quarries, Inc.

Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire
2550 Fifth Ave., 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92103, 619-236-9363