County Planning Staff is Recommending the Project be Rejected
Following a nearly seven year process, including members of the public signing thousands of opposition petitions, expressing concerns at a dozen public meetings, and sending hundreds of letters detailing the many significant safety, environmental, and community impacts, the controversial Cottonwood Sand Mine proposal is now scheduled to be heard by the San Diego County Planning Commission at 9 a.m this Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
This was rescheduled from a month prior, when last minute technical difficulties forced the meeting’s cancelation.
The County’s Department of Planning & Development Services (PDS) has released its report and is recommending the project application be denied, noting that the significant legal findings required for a Major Use Permit cannot be made.
Specifically, PDS is citing its concerns the project will have a harmful impact on the desired community character and the site is not suitable for a large-scale industrial sand mine. These are the same concerns Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine has raised since 2018.
Details on Planning Commission Meeting:
Planning Commission Hearing
Wednesday, July 9, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
County Operations Center (COC) Hearing Room
520 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/PC/sop/PCHearing_stream.html
The Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine Committee will present its opposition to the project during the meeting. The Committee is expressing continued concerns that a Major Use Permit for a more than 10-year open pit sand mining operation — on the site of the Cottonwood Golf Course along the Sweetwater River — is out of character with the already established Rancho San Diego community, made up of nearby homes, schools, and businesses. The project is also inconsistent with the County General Plan and Community Specific Plans.
The Committee is calling on the thousands of individuals who have signed up online and previously expressed opposition to the project to again take action by expressing their opposition to the Planning Commission.
For more information:
https://www.stopcottonwoodsandmine.com/
