On Monday, the city council of Palo Alto voted unanimously to oppose the mining project at Juristac, becoming the seventh city in the region to do so. About 25 people attended the council meeting in support of the Juristac resolution, and the mayor and councilmemembers spoke strongly in support of the resolution before taking a vote.
“Here we are having a chance to avoid the mistakes of the past, to be able to object to the opening of another quarry that will just further poison our local ecosystems for decades and future generations,” Mayor Greer Stone said. “I think we should let Lehigh just really be an example that once these quarries are approved, reclaiming that land is incredibly challenging. It’s an expensive legal battle.”
“Juristac is our most sacred site without a doubt,” Amah Mutsun Chair Valentin Lopez told the council during public comment. “People came from as far away as the Pomo tribes up north, the Chumash tribes down south, and as far away as Yosemite to come to Juristac for sacred ceremonies and for healing. And they did that for thousands of years. There’s a site near Juristac that dates 13,200 years.”
Nine speakers addressed the council during public comment, asking them to adopt the resolution in support of protecting Juristac. In addition, organizations including Green Foothills, the California Native Plant Society, Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance, and Showing Up for Racial Justice Santa Clara County signed a joint letter to the council prior to the meeting. Other letters sent to the council in support of the resolution included a petition to the city with nearly 100 signatures collected by the Bay Area Native Allies Project.
"I want to ask that our council support and stand with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to protect the ecologically sensitive, ancient ceremonial site called Juristac," councilmember Lydia Kou stated as she introduced the resolution and staff report. "Protecting diversity in the region is directly connected to the health and well-being of our own community here in Palo Alto, as the cumulative impacts of the destruction of this sensitive habitat impacts us all."
Further reading/press coverage
- Palo Alto Online 12/4/24: Palo Alto joins effort to stop quarry at Juristac | San Jose Spotlight syndicated article
- Joint letter to the City of Palo Alto: Letter from 10 signatory organizations
- Resolution & Memo: Resolution Supporting the Efforts of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to Preserve Juristac/Sargent Ranch as Open Space
- YouTube 12/2/24: Palo Alto City Council Meeting – December 2, 2024