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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend February 15, 2007 Opp Mine supporters have their say Those against proposed aggregate operation near J'ville must wait two weeks to speak By sanne specht Mail Tribune Family members gave tearful pleas and attorneys dismissed community concerns at a packed hearing before Jackson County commissioners Wednesday on whether owners of the Opp Mine should be allowed to resume aggregate mining a mile from Jacksonville. After Opp Mine proponents gave three hours of testimony, the hearing was continued to Feb. 28, frustrating the scores of opponents who had attended hoping to testify. A weeping Sandra Hardin of Eagle Point read into the record a letter from her deceased mother, Bernadine Wynnyk, that excoriated former Jackson County officials for breaking promises and going back on deals. Wynnyk and Hardin's husband, Frank, purchased the Opp Mine property in 1988. "I've lost my mother through this and I've almost lost my husband," said Sandra Hardin. Her mother suffered a series of strokes and her husband has had several heart attacks because of the stress, she said. Frank Hardin and partner Bob Robertson have threatened to pursue a $50 million lawsuit against Jackson County unless officials grant them a zoning change from woodland to aggregate resource. The change would allow them to mine between 1.4 million and 1.6 million cubic yards of aggregate — and possibly gold — from a 30-acre section of the 157-acre property. Advertisement "We're here for justice," said Robertson, an attorney. "This property is worth nothing without a (mining) permit." The owners said they bought the property with the understanding the zoning could be changed. In the past 17 years, the county has twice promised to grant conditional use permits on the property. But a former land-use hearings officer thwarted the process, Sandra Hardin said. Jacksonville town leaders — and nearby neighbors wearing red "Stop Opp" stickers — packed the county auditorium Wednesday afternoon. Most believe allowing the mine to reopen would create environmental hazards, damage property values and threaten the historic status of Jacksonville. Robertson said city streets are already paved with rock previously mined from the Opp property. He blamed Jacksonville City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen for getting "everybody all stirred up." "I say to the city of Jacksonville, you have a very hypocritical position," he said. Represented by Medford land-use planner Mike LaNier and Attorney Ross Day, director of legal affairs for the property-rights group Oregonians in Action, Hardin and Robertson said neighbors' contamination, noise and traffic concerns either have no basis in fact or are easily mitigated. Lee Brennan of Agate Engineering in Medford said modern-day blasting methods minimize noise and debris and that any contaminants would be contained within the property, although he did acknowledge the groundwater runs toward Jackson Creek. The acreage, which repeatedly has been referred to as a worthless "brownfield" wasteland by Robertson, has been recently listed for sale for between $5 million and $8 million. The aggregate has an estimated value of more than $20 million, Brennan said. Family members said the matter is a property rights issue which has deeply and negatively impacted the Hardin family. They will not stop battling for the rezoning. "I left the town I was born and raised in to raise money to fight the fight," said the Hardins' 37-year-old son, John Hardin, who established a trucking business in Las Vegas. The Jackson County Planning Commission in November unanimously voted to recommend the county commissioners deny the Opp Mine request. The planning commissioners ruled Frank Hardin and Robertson had not met their burden of proof to warrant a zoning change. The planning commission staff report culled from more than 2,000 pages of oral and written testimony from residents, technical experts and city officials advising them that approving the zoning change could create significant negative environmental, economic and traffic safety issues, commissioners said. "The mine setting lacks any natural topographic barriers that could mitigate noise, dust and other impacts and does not offer viable mitigation measures to compensate. The proposed site is further complicated by an abandoned mine, the historic Opp Mine, with pending clean-up measures required by DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), and a set of underground tunnels," wrote Jackson County Planner Stuart Todd. Opponents will give their testimony at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the County Courthouse auditorium, 10 S. Oakdale Ave., Medford. Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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