Granite Wins (for now)by Barbara Renton
July 22, 2010 
Wonder Valley, CA - In Twentynine Palms next to Wonder Valley last week the Planning Commission approved the expansion by 356 acres of Granite Construction Company, while the land surrounding it was changed from rural to commercial.
Granite’s helpful and friendly supervisor John Drummond said to me that this expansion goes towards the SW direction towards Baseline Road and not towards any residential housing. In driving down this construction road it ends up near B&B Auto Parts yard with no houses in sight.
“The biggest job,” says Drummond, “is on the Marine base, otherwise their nearest site is in Cabazon.”
Drummond says he was from Twentynine Palms and went to their schools but now lives in Yucca Valley. He said most of his fulltime crew live there and are locals. He also explained the constant dripping and pouring out of water is just overflow from the water tower that pours into their lower pond for mixing concrete and spraying down dust.
While the expansion location seems good news for Bob and Susan Holmes, they wonder why the asphalt piles are expanding closer to the few houses in their area. Holmes said she thought “city planning commissioners were supposed to make sure the city is being taken care of.” One would assume that its residents held more importance than just businesses.
At the July 6th meeting, Granite’s environmental manager, Jayne Powell claimed their aggregate material (used for making asphalt and concrete) was almost depleted. “Our local demand,” stated Powell “in the Twentynine Palms area is 10 tons per year.”
Pat Flanagan, local resident and environmentalist spoke out against any expansions by GCC since their proposed reclamation plans allow non-native plant species into the area. Flanagan stated that “the Department of Fish and Game continues to have significant issues with the final Environmental Impact Report.”
Brad Mitzelfelt is the San Bernardino Supervisor for this area. He can be reached at 760-361-8577 at 6136 Adobe Rd, 29 Palms, 92277. Or go to Edwin Snell’s website: www.recallscalifornia.com/mitzelfelt where he lists this 1st District Supervisor’s list of developer and real estate interests of $5,000 + each from LA to Palm Desert.
Not so far away across the basin on Tuesday July 13th, the Planning Commission decided against expanding Yucca Valley’s Animal Shelter off Skyline Ranch in Rancho Mesa. They will revisit this item when more information is presented which was a relief to the neighbors in the area. Originally this was a private residence transformed into a no-kill shelter which did well in donations and placing pets for adoption.
But if the air smells of burning asphalt, don’t worry, that’s just the expanding black mountain downwind in Twentynine Palms, courtesy of Granite Construction Company blowing our way.
