Banner Mountain Homeowners Association Est. 1984

Mines are required to obtain a Use Permit to operate. The Use Permit provides local government a means to regulate the activities of mines, addressing issues of traffic, pollution, noise, roads, etc.

The owners of the Blue Lead Mine, located at the bottom of Red Dog Road, submitted a request to waive the Use Permit, based upon the claim that the mine has a “vested right” to operate that was established in 1954. This would allow them to avoid conforming to operational rules that the county may impose. To qualify for this “vested right”, the applicants needed to prove that they had the right in 1954, and that they had continued to operate since then under certain criteria.

The Nevada County Planning Department staff provided strong evidence on the basis of which to deny Blue Lead's request that they be granted a “vested rights“ waiver. There was no proof submitted that showed the mine was in operation in 1954 and there was no activity on the site for 49 of the 56 years since 1954.

Initially the Planning Commission seemed to side with Blue Lead. However, as a result of significant community involvement, much of which came from Banner Mountain residents, on May 27, the Commission decided to reject the Blue Lead story and deny vested rights. This reversal of an earlier intent to grant vested rights is a huge victory for community involvement. The PC decision was initially appealed to the Board of Supervisors and then withdrawn by Blue Lead. Blue Lead has stated that they will continue the permit process, which they had started before they decided to try the vested rights approach. We will monitor the process and keep you informed of what happens next.

For additional information:

A good article about the Blue Lead Mine and the May 27 meeting is at http://yubanet.com/regional/Blue-Lead-Mine.php

The location of Nevada County Planning documentation for Blue Lead is at https://docs.co.nevada.ca.us/dsweb/View/Collection-57687