In June, the Ventura County Planning Commission looked at a request to let trucks serve the Pacific Rock quarry from 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Commissioners took that window out of the permit. Three months later, heavy rock trucks started running on Pleasant Valley Road, Lewis Road and Las Posas Road from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., six days a week.
The trucks you see this fall are the kind of emergency exception the commission discussed when it set the quarry's long-term rules. The full permit now goes to the Board of Supervisors on appeal, with a hearing tentatively set for October 20. Between now and mid-December, Camarillo gets a close look at what extended hours are like.
What the City Announced in September
On September 21, the City of Camarillo said Pacific Rock Mine would temporarily extend its operating hours. The extra hours supply rock, aggregate and riprap for emergency repairs in Malibu. The city linked the work to coastal erosion along Pacific Coast Highway in the Palisades Fire burn scar and to a sinkhole in the City of Malibu. It called Pacific Rock "the nearest mining operation able to supply the materials needed."
The schedule in the notice:
- The extended schedule could start as early as Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- Trucks typically run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with no Sunday operations
- Routes are Pleasant Valley Road, Highway 34 via Lewis Road and Hueneme Road, and Las Posas Road, connecting to Highway 1 toward Malibu
- No additional blasting or mining happens during the extended hours
- The temporary increase is expected to last through December 15, 2026
The notice gives no daily truck count. The Camarillo Review pointed this out in its September 24 coverage, quoting the city's only description of volume, "multiple heavy-duty trucks throughout the day." The Review also reported that the notice did not list specific mitigation measures or say which neighborhoods beyond the three corridors were considered most affected.
The county contact listed for questions is John Novi, Planning Manager with the Ventura County Planning Division, at 805-654-2462 or [email protected].
Where the Rock Is Going
Malibu has several repair jobs open on the coast at once. Public reporting has not tied the Camarillo trucks to any single one.
- PCH beachfront parcels. The Malibu Times reported in August that staff had assessed about 320 PCH beachfront parcels and flagged 23 locations. In the 20000 block, erosion had reached the edge of the road and exposed utility infrastructure. A September 3 follow-up said Caltrans expected interim fixes at the 23 red-tagged parcels by October 31. Possible measures included slope restoration, backfill, shotcrete and slope stabilization.
- A boulder job near Point Mugu. Malibu.FM reported on September 18 that Caltrans is placing rock along PCH between Malibu and Point Mugu. Trucks unload boulders inland, and an excavator sets them into a hole the ocean has eroded beside the road. Completion is expected by the end of January 2027.
- The Sea Level Drive sinkhole. According to Malibu's emergency proclamation, a sinkhole about 25 to 30 feet deep opened on Sea Level Drive on September 8. The city's September 11 update said the homeowners association and its engineers and contractors are responsible for the repair, and the city is handling permits and monitoring.
In its own coverage of the haul schedule, Malibu.FM said it could not confirm whether the rock was headed to Malibu or to the separate Point Mugu project. Those end dates still matter here. The Point Mugu work is expected to run about six weeks past the December 15 date in Camarillo's notice. As of October 12, neither the city nor the county has announced an extension.
Four Schedules, One Quarry
The quarry is at 1000 South Howard Road in unincorporated Ventura County, about 1.5 miles east of Lewis Road and two miles south of US 101. According to the county's environmental review, the hard-rock quarry has been operating since 1902, and Pacific Rock, Inc. acquired it in December 2000.
Four sets of operating hours now apply to this one site, depending on which document you read:
| Schedule | Days | Hours | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining and processing, per the Final EIR | Monday to Saturday | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Proposed to stay the same |
| Truck activity, as proposed in the Final EIR | Monday to Sunday | 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Removed by the Planning Commission on June 18 |
| Planning Commission approval | Current days, no holidays | Current hours | Longer hours possible at a government agency's request; under appeal |
| Malibu emergency haul | Monday to Saturday | 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. | Temporary, through December 15, 2026 |
Our source for the third row is a summary of the June 18 hearing posted by Save Conejo Mountain, a community group that opposes the expansion. According to that summary, one commissioner wanted to keep current hours with no Sundays but said hours would need to expand "to support PCH emergency uses." Another suggested keeping current hours unless a federal, state or county agency asked for more to meet emergency needs. In the end, the 4:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. truck window came out of the permit, and expanded days and hours can be allowed when a government agency asks.
The city and county have not said whether this fall's haul is running under that provision. The June approval is under appeal, and the notice does not state the legal basis for the temporary hours. What residents can see is that the situation commissioners described in June is now happening on Pleasant Valley Road.
What the 60-Year Permit Would Change
The appeal concerns county case LU10-0003, Pacific Rock's long-term permit modification. The Final Environmental Impact Report, dated May 2025, describes these changes:
- The permit area grows from 111.5 to 204.4 acres, and the combined mining area and facilities grow from 62.5 to 172.8 acres
- The requested permit extension goes from 30 years to 60, with about 29.7 million tons of available rock
- Proposed annual production is 468,000 tons, with a daily maximum of 1,500 tons shipped and 60 truckloads, or 120 one-way trips
That 60-load figure is the ceiling for long-term operations. It is not a count of this fall's Malibu trucks, which no agency has published. The EIR identifies traffic effects on Pancho Road between Pleasant Valley Road and Calle Quetzal, and on Pleasant Valley Road between Pancho Road and the southbound US 101 ramps.
According to the community group's hearing notes, county planner John Novi described the expansion at the June hearing as about 110 more acres overall and a 176 percent increase in disturbed area. He added that the plan moves more tonnage per year but not more on any single day. The same notes say the blasting notice requirement went from 24 hours to seven days. The change followed testimony from Conejo Mountain Funeral Home, which said it schedules services two to three weeks ahead and shares the narrow access road with quarry trucks.
The concerns go back years. In 2021, the Camarillo Acorn reported that City of Camarillo officials objected to the proposal, and that quarry trucks would use city roads between the site and US 101. The city's written comment on the environmental review that year said it did not support the project as proposed. It objected to expanded hours and raised concerns about the scenic corridor, noise and traffic mitigation.
The October 20 Hearing
The Center for Biological Diversity appealed the approval. It argues that the environmental review did not adequately assess the full 60-year operating life, and it cites narrowing of a wildlife corridor, effects on Conejo buckwheat, and increased greenhouse gas and air quality impacts. The Ventura County Star covered the appeal on July 24.
The county's tentative hearing schedule lists the Board of Supervisors appeal hearing for October 20, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. It falls in District 2, represented by Supervisor Jeff Gorell, with John Novi as case planner. The schedule says its dates "may be postponed or rescheduled at any time" and directs the public to the case planner for confirmation. As of October 6, the county's pending projects list showed LU10-0003 as "Prep for Hearing."
So the supervisors will take up the appeal while the extended-hour trucks are still running. The board will be deciding the rules for a 60-year term, including how often longer hours can return, during a season when longer hours are in effect.
One Date on the Truck Calendar
The 64th Camarillo Christmas Parade and Santa's Village run Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the parade stepping off at 10 a.m. The parade route goes from Temple Avenue and Las Posas Road down Las Posas and Carmen Drive to Community Center Park at 1605 E. Burnley St. That Saturday falls inside the haul schedule, and Las Posas Road is one of the three truck routes the city named. The temporary hours are scheduled to end three days later, on December 15.
If you own a home near Pleasant Valley Road, Las Posas or Lewis Road and want to understand how pending county decisions like this one could affect a future sale, Karen Sandvig will walk you through it with local context. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation & Marketing Plan, and we will include what is known about the quarry's schedule as of your appointment.
