Mueller Lake Park Outdoor Amphitheater
Gravel Pit Mine Project Will Destroy Neighborhood
RECEIVED Wed., June 3, 2009
Dear Editor,
About “TXI Mines Another Headache for Webberville” [News, May 29]: I am one of the citizens organizing against the proposed TXI gravel pit mine project. It's not planned for Webberville but in Hornsby-Dunlap, a unique area with real agriculture, old and new residential neighborhoods, and green businesses like the tree farm and the native plant nursery that is within the city's 2-mile extra-territorial jurisdiction.
The proposed mine includes property on which three major creeks (Decker, Elm, and Gilleland) come together and flow into the Colorado River. This is a historical area surrounding what they call the Hunter Mansion, built in 1859. The mined property includes the cemetery where James Gilleland is buried. The neighborhood has been residential at least since the Hunter Mansion was built. Now new neighbors that have invested in homes recently approved are facing the possibility of a 2,000-acre gravel pit across the road.
These homes are not low-income, but they represent the life savings and entire portfolio for most of us. Of course we are worried about property values, along with health and safety issues of a mine and a 4-mile field conveyor next door. The TXI-hosted forums mentioned were a joke. I hope Commissioner Ron Davis will keep his promise about having a serious debate with all of us in the Hornsby-Dunlap neighborhood about the compatibility of this proposed TXI pit mine project with the residential area already there.
About “TXI Mines Another Headache for Webberville” [News, May 29]: I am one of the citizens organizing against the proposed TXI gravel pit mine project. It's not planned for Webberville but in Hornsby-Dunlap, a unique area with real agriculture, old and new residential neighborhoods, and green businesses like the tree farm and the native plant nursery that is within the city's 2-mile extra-territorial jurisdiction.
The proposed mine includes property on which three major creeks (Decker, Elm, and Gilleland) come together and flow into the Colorado River. This is a historical area surrounding what they call the Hunter Mansion, built in 1859. The mined property includes the cemetery where James Gilleland is buried. The neighborhood has been residential at least since the Hunter Mansion was built. Now new neighbors that have invested in homes recently approved are facing the possibility of a 2,000-acre gravel pit across the road.
These homes are not low-income, but they represent the life savings and entire portfolio for most of us. Of course we are worried about property values, along with health and safety issues of a mine and a 4-mile field conveyor next door. The TXI-hosted forums mentioned were a joke. I hope Commissioner Ron Davis will keep his promise about having a serious debate with all of us in the Hornsby-Dunlap neighborhood about the compatibility of this proposed TXI pit mine project with the residential area already there.
Richard Macdonald
