CEMEX’s proposed blast mine on the San Joaquin River stalled before the Fresno County Planning Commission on Thursday, when commissioners deadlocked 3-3 — a split that amounts to a preliminary denial and sets up a likely appeal to the Board of Supervisors at a date yet to be determined. Fresno County’s meeting hall was packed to the gills Thursday morning: the hearing room was standing-room-only, with three overflow rooms filled with scores of residents from across the county who oppose the controversial proposal, which sits about 200 yards from the San Joaquin River. Speaker after speaker said they could not imagine a worse location for a mine than a river, inside a public parkway, near where salmon spawn and children play at summer camp.

Related:

• The Business Journal (Fresno, Calif.): Fresno County Planning Commission tie stalls CEMEX expansion