Neighbors: Permits lacking, graffiti still present at Carlsbad quarry

By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer | Friday, July 7, 2006 11:31 PM PDT ∞

Mel Vernon, of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, attempts to dislodge a shopping cart from the pool below El Salto Falls on Buena Vista Creek in Carlsbad Friday. He was unsuccessful in the effort.
BILL WECHTER Staff Photographer
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CARLSBAD ---- Neighbors gathered Friday on Haymar Road near the front gate of Hanson Aggregates Inc. to draw attention to dozens of new cars stored on the company's property without a permit, as well as to the continued presence of graffiti and trash in and on El Salto Falls straddling the borders of Oceanside and Carlsbad.

The El Salto site is considered hallowed ground by the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.

"Their permit is limited to recycling operations; it does not pertain to storing cars," said Diane Nygaard, a community activist who has repeatedly spoken out about conditions in the valley on Carlsbad's northern border, just south of State Route 78 and just west of College Boulevard.

Mel Vernon, a member of the San Luis Rey band, visited the site Friday alongside residents who live in the area. He said the sight of graffiti sprayed on the rocks and trash strewn throughout the area, including several shopping carts dumped in the pools of water below the falls, were depressing.

"It concerns me directly," he said. "This is our heritage."

Peter Zagar, environmental and regulatory affairs manager for Hanson Aggregates in Southern California, said Friday that he believed storing vehicles on the property was covered under the company's existing permit and added that the company is working with the neighboring Quarry Creek shopping center in Oceanside to reduce graffiti in the area.

Though Oceanside is currently overseeing reclamation efforts at the property, the land is technically inside Carlsbad's boundaries and thus it is Carlsbad's rules and ordinances that apply to Hanson Aggregates.

Nygaard noted that storing cars on the property for an adjacent car dealership is not the first time Hanson has managed to allow activities on its property without the necessary permits. She noted that the company excavated more than 90,000 tons of soil ---- about 17,000 of those tons were found by company officials to be contaminated with petroleum ---- without a grading permit from Carlsbad.

Neighbor Shelley Hayes Caron, who lives on Haymar in a historical adobe home, said Carlsbad has not enforced its own graffiti ordinance on the property, especially at El Salto Falls which is tucked next to a tall retaining wall that holds up much of the nearby Quarry Creek shopping center in Oceanside.

"The city's ordinance says that the graffiti's supposed to be taken care of within 48 hours," Caron said. "It's been there since May and it's still there."

"I want them to seriously enforce the city codes," Nygaard added.

Sandy Holder, Carlsbad's community services director, said Friday that the city met with Hanson at the site recently and noticed the cars parked on the lot.

"Their permit is for mining, it doesn't have anything to do with storing vehicles," Holder said. "We told them they would need a conditional-use permit for what they were doing, and they were on the phone within a few minutes of us getting back to the office."

She added that the city will not require the cars to be removed from the property because they are parked in areas that have previously been used for storage.

Zagar said Friday that he thought the company's existing permit, granted by the city in 1961, covered storing vehicles on the property. He said Hanson has previously leased the same paved lots to another company which stored heavy equipment there for some time with no apparent need for a new permit. He added that the cars, which are brand-new, will not likely hurt anything.

"These are brand-new cars," Zagar said. "They're not leaking. There are no environmental issues."

Holder said the city of Carlsbad was unaware that Hanson had been leasing its property for storage.

"We may have thought it was their equipment for their operation," she said.

Holder added that the city's code enforcement department, which she oversees, has asked Hanson remove the graffiti from El Salto Falls. She said it will take some time to get the work done, because the Buena Vista Creek, which flows through the area, is considered environmentally sensitive.

"They will have to go in with wire brushes to remove it. They cannot use chemicals," she said.

She added that Hanson has agreed to employ a new type of security on its site. She said a security guard will now walk the perimeter of the property every 15 minutes to try to deter vandals from repainting the falls or other areas of the site.

"We are going to do everything we can," Holder said. "We realize this is a sacred location."

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.

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Surprised? wrote on Jul 8, 2006 8:40 AM:Once again, Carlsbad demonstrates its "bad neighbor policy" with respect to surrounding cities. You can bet your bottom dollar that if the situation were reversed and the property was in Oceanside, the city of Carlsbad would have been screaming about this issue month's ago. It is content to reap the tax benefits of this operation while neglecting the responsibilities for what it creates for the surrounding neighbors -- most of whom reside in Oceanside. The city of Oceanside should annex this property, and quickly, because Carlsbad has a lot of high density development in mind for the area.

Tribes wrote on Jul 8, 2006 10:43 AM:I wonder ...... with all the money the indian casinos rake in, why are they not more involved on a daily basis in preserving this sacred site? Could they not hire security and arrange for trash to be removed on a regular basis or would this be too costly for the regional tribes?

A voter wrote on Jul 8, 2006 10:49 AM:How right you are about Carlsbad being a bad neighbor; they demonstrate this over and over again. Are they so greedy that they want 1000 homes no matter what the environmental or cultural cost? Disgusted with you Carlsbad! O'side Attorney needs to get a letter together and demand that they clean this property up for us downstreamers!

Joe wrote on Jul 8, 2006 2:30 PM:Carlsbad is the worst...they keep the roads closed when they have caused a majority of the traffic in north county. Way to go Bud Lewis you idiot.

Looks Like Mexico wrote on Jul 8, 2006 9:30 PM:If that picture didn't have a caption under it, I would've sworn that this scene was right out of frick'n Mexico! The manifestation of litter and discards along once-serene creek banks is obviously the by-product of the many illegal immigrants who traverse these areas and camp overnight. Having lived in Carlsbad for years, I've witnessed first-hand, the proliferation of 'mojados' (wetbacks) who have complete disregard for the environment by discarding their trash in these areas, not to mention urinating and deficating where there are no facilities...just like where they came from. I loved the feedback from the writer, 'Tribes'. You hit it right on the mark....why don't the Indian casinos assume responsibility and show the community that they can be good neighbors by cleaning this up (or contracting it out with their millions $$)? Just think, with an additional 1,000 new homes in the area, that will attract even 'mojados' coming to do pick & shovel work in all of those brand new yards!

pay attention wrote on Jul 8, 2006 11:30 PM:Here you have a business (HANSONS) operating on a conditional use permit for forty years . now they say that renting to a car dealership for storage is Ok because they have done storage for years. What you mean to say that Carlsbad didn't care enough to make this company pay for permits and review their CUP every few years . Like everyone else. How long do you think that they would have kept silent about the fuel leak in the quarry that has now contaminated the ground water. Thanks to the whistle blowers. Enough is enough. Lets make a regional county park here at this minning site. Restore the creek to open space . We need to enjoy the El Salto waterfall just like they do in Anza State Park.That park was designed around their waterfall.

Get a clue! wrote on Jul 9, 2006 2:36 AM:How uniformed some of you are! For one thing, this band (the one the article refers to) is not federally recognized, they have no land or anything else! Native American's aren't all "on the same page," politically, or "on the same side" anymore than all white people are. AND, this trash and graffiti isn't caused by undocumented workers! It's caused by our mass consumerism and probably by teens who have no community center.... why aren't we all respecting this sacred area? We all need to clean it up! We are all responsible and we should all be assamed! Stop the immigrant bashing and look in the mirror!

oh please wrote on Jan 6, 2007 9:57 AM:Take a look at an aerial map of the area. Oceanaide allowed the shopping center to be built on top of the falls. They also allowed homes to be built right up to the boarder by Calavera Lake. Carlsbad is about to do the same with the land around the falls. All the open space has been rezoned for residential. Kiss it all goodbye. Very few people know the falls exist, there is no way to even go see them, and no one cares enough to draw attention to it. Call Mike Turko and vote city clowns out of office.

Kim wrote on Feb 25, 2008 11:43 AM:I agree with "pay attention" that the waterfall creek area need to be preserved as open space. A public park should be included in the use conditions when housing is planned. I found out about the falls from the calendar produced by the City of Carlsbad entitled Carlsbad Celebrates a 2008 community guide. Nothing is mentioned about public access, however.

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