Supervisors will soon weigh in on the Las Pilitas Resources proposal and whether we embrace local residents wanting to do business here or send our dollars to businesses that support workers elsewhere.

As a strong supporter of the Las Pilitas Resources proposal, I see no issues in approving this project. The site is zoned for mining, identified as a place of “regional significance” for mineral extraction by the state of California, and is in an excellent location, right off a state highway that joins 101, the central corridor through San Luis Obispo County.

Age-old tactics by naysayers—added traffic, noise, and a drain on water resources—are all unfounded. An existing quarry outside Santa Margarita produces more traffic than the Las Pilitas Resources proposal will. The noise from a split-second blast is already ingrained in neighbors who live near to the quarry next door, which has been around for a hundred years. The Salinas River, running alongside the quarry site, will allow it to use river water, protecting the underground aquifers and neighbors’ wells.

It’s easy to pick apart the half-truths by NIMBYs that’ll oppose anything in their backyards. It’s hard to deny the need for additional aggregate resources our county needs to sustain ourselves in the future.

-- JIM PHILSON - NIPOMO