Proposed East County sand mine is rejected by top leaders

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has rejected a plan to build a large sand mine in East County, a victory for residents who have pushed back against the project since it was first proposed seven years ago.

Leaders voted unanimously Wednesday against allowing a developer to pull millions of tons of earth out of more than 200 acres in unincorporated El Cajon. About 150 homes are near the site, a former golf course that would have been re-named the Cottonwood Sand Mine.

“The quality of life impacts that this project would bring are very significant,” Supervisor Paloma Aguirre said from the dais. “Especially when it comes to the amount of trucks coming in.”

The decision came after the owner, Los Angeles-based developer Michael Schlesinger, donated money to support potential and current members of the Board of Supervisors.

In recent years, campaign filings show that Schlesinger offered up tens of thousands of dollars to bolster Republican supervisor candidates. In 2024, Schlesinger gave big — nearly $100,000 — to two outside spending groups backing former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s failed run against Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer.

Earlier this year, Schlesinger donated $25,000 to an outside group backing the candidacy of Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, who ran unsuccessfully against Aguirre.

Donors can give unlimited sums to such groups, which are barred from coordinating with candidates and their campaigns. Had either Faulconer or McCann won the election, it would have handed control of the five-member board to Republicans.

Schlesinger even donated $5,000 in 2022 to Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson, who represents much of East County. Anderson, however, was the one to make the motion Wednesday to kill the mine.

A spokesperson for Schlesinger did not return a request for comment, and Jennifer Lynch, an attorney representing the proposed mine, declined to answer questions after the hearing.

The board’s decision is final, although it’s possible the developer may sue to try and overturn the loss.

The property is in the Valle De Oro area between Ivanhoe Ranch Road and Willow Glen Drive. Neighbors and a long list of East County leaders have for years raised concerns about the project, from the potential for pollution near Jamacha Elementary School to the specter of dump trucks clogging evacuation routes.

County staffers concluded that the mine would likely not bring widespread harm. But they still recommended against the proposal, citing a “harmful effect on desirable neighborhood character.” In July, the planning commission also rejected the project in a split 3-3 vote.

The developer appealed that decision to the full Board of Supervisors.

The crowd was so large Wednesday that attendees spilled into an overflow viewing room. Nearly 100 individuals asked to weigh in, and like many past meetings, a large majority were opposed to a mine. Some residents seemed near tears when discussing how their elderly parents or immune-compromised relatives might be affected. One woman said previous experience living near mining had taught her that sand “invades your home, it invades your yard, it sticks to your house.”

Families “never signed up to live next to an industrial zone,” said Oday Yousif Jr., chair of the Valle de Oro Community Planning Group.

Proponents have responded that the mine would create jobs and offer a local source of sand needed for construction, an especially valuable resource at a time when supply chain woes have helped drive up the cost of housing. The plan called for mining to last a decade — although the owner could have applied for an extension — and affected areas were to be re-covered with vegetation. About 150 acres should have then become a public trail.

Those in favor of the project mainly came from the construction industry and a carpenter’s union.

“In the past three years, I’ve seen concrete go from $92 a yard to $187 a yard,” said Jake Richards, a leader at the El Cajon-based company Hamann Construction and Development. “If we can get sand here in San Diego, that greatly reduces the cost.”

Several supervisors nodded to the need for cheaper building materials, and Jim Desmond seemed particularly conflicted over the issue. However, none of the board members could get past how a mine might effect the surrounding neighborhoods, especially since there was no guarantee the sand would stay local.

Monica Montgomery Steppe acknowledged that she’d already voiced opposition to the project as a candidate, but the supervisor said her decision Wednesday was based on the evidence in front of her.

The room burst into applause after the final vote.