Azusa : Quarry Decision Delayed

The City Council on Monday again delayed a decision on whether to close an Azusa Rock quarry that is carving into two mountains at the edge of the Angeles National Forest.

Meeting behind closed doors, the council failed to decide on an attorney to provide a second opinion on whether to close the quarry.

“Litigation or potential litigation” was cited as the reason for the closed session.

Last week, Mayor Eugene Moses said the city would seek an impartial opinion after Azusa Rock’s attorneys threatened legal action if a lawyer was selected from a list provided by anti-quarry activist Jim McJunkin.

At a March 1 meeting, after the city attorney said the city could be sued for closing the quarry, council members voted to seek outside legal counsel from a list provided by McJunkin.

Since Feb. 1, when McJunkin appealed to the city council to close the quarry, council members have discussed the issue five times and failed to resolve it.

McJunkin has submitted the names of three environmental litigators, Susan Durbin of Santa Monica, James Sharmart of Los Angeles and Sabrina Schiller, who was a board member on the South Coast Air Quality Management District for 10 years.