Keep on trucking? Not this much

Hand-lettered signs and bumper stickers proclaiming “Stop the Trucks!” are cropping up around the Ojai Valley, and that can only mean one thing.

The little town that shooed away a landfill and sent Caltrans packing is zeroing in on another Goliath-size target: gravel trucks that rumble up and down state Highway 33 nearly every day.

Though the truck traffic is not new, proposals for two mining operations in the Cuyama Valley north of Ojai could double the number of trucks that use the highway as the fastest way to deliver aggregate to markets south.

That could bring more noise, traffic and pollution to residents who live close to the highway, opponents say. Critics contend that the double-hopper rigs are unsafe on Highway 33, a two-lane road filled with switchbacks and narrow tunnels as it climbs into Los Padres National Forest north of Ojai.

“People get run off the road all the time. My nephew did just a few weeks ago,” said Therese Hartmann, a leader of the opposition. “It’s unsafe for the truck drivers too. But that route cuts an hour off of their delivery time, and they get paid by the load.”

Hartmann and others say they’re not out to shut down the mines. They acknowledge that aggregate, in short supply in Ventura County, is needed to repair roads, rebuild sewer lines and beautify homes.

What they want is an agreement to limit the number of trucks that come through Ojai and to make sure that truck drivers follow the rules.

“We do need gravel mines,” Hartmann said. “But there’s got to be a way to protect our national forest and the safety of the motorists, bicyclists and people going up there to go hiking.”

Their opposition is focused on two operations. Ozena mine, tucked into the northwestern corner of Ventura County, opened in 2001. Owner Mike Virgilio is seeking to double the number of daily trips to 134.

Just a bit north, and inside the Santa Barbara County line, the Troesh family is proposing a new operation, Diamond Rock mine, that would excavate up to 750,000 tons of aggregate annually from the banks of the Cuyama River. That could generate up to 138 daily trips during high-volume seasons, Cherisse Troesh said.

The biggest dispute centers on just how many of the combined 272 trips would cut through Ojai as the trucks travel south. Troesh estimated that just 20% of the loads from Diamond Rock would be sent out on Highway 33, cutting through Ojai, on the way to the Ventura Freeway.

The other 80% would be sent north to connect with state Route 166 for deliveries to Kern and San Luis Obispo counties, Troesh said.

But opponents say those estimates are based on the 30-year life of the proposed lease. In any given year, Diamond Rock would be free to send 100% of its trucks through Ojai, they say.

Ozena’s operators, meanwhile, contend that all of their new truck traffic would be sent north. But critics point out that Ojai could still see more truck traffic if all of the 66 trips a day now permitted are directed through the city.

John Hecht, an environmental consultant, said that is not Ozena’s intention.

“They would not ship any more gravel south than they are allowed today,” he said. “Ozena is a small operator, and it is happy to comply with whatever restrictions are placed.”

Diamond Rock’s Troesh said her family has not yet agreed to any conditions that would limit the hours that trucks can use Highway 33.

“Right now we have asked for 24-hour trips,” she said.

Ojai residents have responded by writing hundreds of letters criticizing an environmental report on the Diamond Rock project as inadequate. Stop the Trucks leaders are organizing “spotters” to catch gravel trucks breaking laws as they cruise through Ojai.

Supervisor Steve Bennett, who represents the Ojai area, has asked Caltrans to conduct a study on whether Highway 33 is safe for the double-trailer trucks.

Ojai city leaders, meanwhile, have written letters to regulatory bodies in both Ventura and Santa Barbara counties registering residents’ concerns. Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit group that is spearheading the opposition, is holding a community rally May 15.

Critics this week scored a victory, forcing Ozena and the county to perform a full analysis of the potential environmental impacts of expanding the mine’s operations.

Ojai’s citizens can be a formidable bunch. In the 1970s, they stopped a plan by Caltrans to widen Highway 33, the main artery leading into the city from Ventura, fearing that it would spur growth.

A decade later, opponents of a landfill proposed for nearby Weldon Canyon filled public meeting halls to voice displeasure, eventually killing the plan.

“Ojai’s got quite a reputation,” said Gary Kaiser, a Santa Barbara County planner overseeing the Diamond Rock application. “I hope it makes the applicant motivated to make some kind of compromise so this thing doesn’t get [dragged] out in endless litigation.”

Diamond Rock’s proposal is set for review by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission late next month. A hearing on the Ozena expansion is several months away.

“Ojai is as united as I have seen it,” Bennett said. “The Ojai Valley will fight this to the bitter end.”

catherine.saillant@latimes.com