Tom Brown, neighbor of Blue Lead Mine, sent a new letter to the members of the Nevada County Planning Commission two days ago in anticipation of their meeting this Thursday the 27th to further consider Blue Lead owner Robert White’s application for vested right to mine:

Mr. Brown’s letter included this comment about his own property rights:

“Commissioner Poulter once said ‘Property rights are something we need to hold dear to us.’ (The Union, Jan. 19, 2005) We couldn’t agree more. There exists an important extension of the Commissioner’s belief: along with our own property rights comes the responsibility to hold dear the rights of other property owners. This is something that Mr. White does not understand. Mr. White’s actions as my neighbor proclaim his belief that the only property rights that are dear are his rights. He trampled on our property rights when he trespassed on our land to alter my road for his convenience. He destroyed timber, affected drainage, affected runoff, killed plants, and disturbed historical evidence of previous inhabitants that we valued and that gave character to the land. He didn’t improve the road; he deepened a scar upon the land that we had hoped to retain in a primitive state.”

See Tom Brown’s complete letter here.