I am not sure what was going on in the minds of Lakeside’s “committee” in approving the Monte sand mining project. With the looming El Monte Sand Mining Project it is making a bad situation even worse. This project only has 10 trucks an hour transporting sand compared to a larger one in the El Monte preserve, but when you combine the two is sounds like a catastrophe for the Lakeside community. What were you thinking?
I am not sure what was going on in the minds of Lakeside’s “committee” in approving the Monte sand mining project. With the looming El Monte Sand Mining Project it is making a bad situation even worse. This project only has 10 trucks an hour transporting sand compared to a larger one in the El Monte preserve, but when you combine the two is sounds like a catastrophe for the Lakeside community. What were you thinking?
I realize that all of this seems like a lost battle already because local sand mining will save so much money for San Diego County, especially with all the new construction planned over the next decade. Shipping in sand is costly and these projects will cut the cost of local construction. When you look at it that way it seems to be the right thing to do, but at what cost to a community? I loved living in Lakeside away from the city and everything that comes with city life. It was the closest thing to living back home in the South and that is why so many people choose to live out here. It is much more laid back and this is one of the reasons the population of Lakeside has grown over the past three decades that I have lived in the county.
But this will be destroyed with all this sand mining and the repercussions will reach far beyond the Lakeside community as every community will be affected by the amount of traffic these projects will produce. Then take into consideration the devastating impact it will have on the locals who grow crops, breed horses and live more in the lifestyle of a farmer. Then there are those who chose this community for its small-town feel. Well you can kiss that goodbye if you keep going in this direction.
What really baffles me is that many who approved this project are some of the same people trying to preserve the El Monte Valley. Again, what are you thinking?
We know the project will generate millions of dollars but, so far, I see no benefits for the community of Lakeside. I know what it will do to harm the community but can anyone explain the benefits, if any, that this project will gain for the Lakeside community? That is the real missing piece of this puzzle that makes me so opposed to all of this. So please feel free to chime in and let me know how this benefits the community that I feel like is being destroyed one sand mining project at a time.
I will gladly take opinion pieces from either side, sit down with those who are creating these projects and let them tell their side of the story and promise to do so without bias even though you already know that I oppose it. I am challenging anyone who supports these sand projects to change my mind. I am open minded and if you can prove to me the benefits outweigh the environmental and lifestyle repercussions, I’ll retract all the things I have said opposing these projects without hesitation. But honestly, I do not believe you can, so it might be more of a dare rather than a challenge. So I dare you to prove me wrong.
