Letter to my supervisor in Santa Clara County regarding Juristac:
Dear Supervisor Ellenberg,
Thanks for your work.
I'll probably be writing to you about the Juristac issue again, but I want to say now that I strongly oppose plans for a gravel and sand quarry on the site of Juristac south of Gilroy.
This land is now known as Sargent Ranch, but it really belongs to the Amah Mutsun tribe. They propose that instead of an ugly quarry, that this land become a park where the tribe can gather to preserve its heritage and do sacred rituals, and educate the public about Native American spirituality and how to relate to Nature.
This land being a sacred site, mitigation is not an option. Ugly trucks and pits would detract from the sacred feeling and spirit of the entire area. This tribe and others have suffered a lot of injustice and destruction in the past, and this needs to be rectified, not engaged in further. If other religions had sacred sites like this, they would be saved. First peoples' heritage of over 12,000 years in our area is very important now when we need to learn so much from them about how they live in harmony with the land and spirit instead of through extraction and destruction. This area is also an important corridor for wildlife so they can connect between the 3 areas that join together at the Juristac site. There are also concerns about sand and gravel running off into the nearby rivers.
We need to recycle the vast amounts of used concrete from demolitions going on in our county. The Premier company on Phelan Ave has extensive recycling of concrete and cement going on. That should be a source for new construction, rather than further tearing into our hills. And this Juristac/Sargent Ranch proposed quarry site is visible from the 101 Freeway, and its operation would add many trucks emitting CO2 and other pollution as well as noisy traffic to the area. I just don't see the crying need to destroy sacred and scenic land for more gravel pits, especially at a time of our serious climate crisis. The possible profits for those who run the quarry are not a high priority.
Please approve a project and any needed funding to make this area a park owned by the Amah Mutsun tribe, instead of Sargent Ranch and a rock quarry.
Thanks and best wishes,
Eric A Meece
Additional comment
The big-money company that wants to mine Juristac says mining will only last 30 years, after which they will throw some dirt into the big hole they made and go home. I don't believe it. If they can get a permit for their quarry now, despite our opposition, what's to stop them 30 years from now from asking for a permit to mine sand and gravel there for another 30 years or more?
Plus, these next 30 years are the critical years in which global warming must be reversed, but this quarry project will add to it.
Protect Juristac Please go to this website and learn more, and
you can write your own letter to the County Planning Commission (until Sept.25) and your Santa Clara County Supervisor:
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First Unitarian Church of San Jose