Dozens of residents urged the Jurupa Valley Planning Commission to halt work tied to proposed development in the North Pyrite (Stringfellow) Canyon and to cancel a $500,000 environmental impact report (EIR) that they said would bankroll change they oppose.

At the meeting’s public comment period, speakers including Janet Benton, Jacqueline Lee and long‑time residents described the canyon — often referred to by speakers as the Stringfellow acid pits — as a long‑standing toxic site. “I’m here to ask that we cancel the $500,000 EIR report for the string fill of acid pits and that we do not develop in Pyrite Canyon,” Janet Benton told commissioners. Others recounted childhood memories of contamination, long local cleanup efforts and alleged health problems they connect to the site.

The commenters said disturbance of the capped canyon could release airborne or waterborne toxins and endanger surrounding neighborhoods, local schools and the water table. “Opening the ceiling cap on the site for construction will cause toxins to become airborne and waterborne,” Jacqueline Lee said. Several speakers said prior cleanup did not fully resolve contamination and warned that new construction could trigger lawsuits over health impacts.

Speakers noted the canyon’s history of litigation, the long cleanup timeline and local memories of illnesses and deaths they believe are tied to exposure. Carol Menetas, who described severe Crohn’s disease and childhood exposure through runoff, asked the commission to “please consider somewhere else to put this” and appealed to the commissioners’ concern for community health.

Commenters also said the city and responsible agencies have not done enough to maintain remediation infrastructure. At the end of the meeting, Annette Dwire — who identified her family’s history of activism against contamination — urged elected officials to “hold accountable the entities that are supposed to be cleaning up the community, and leave the canyon alone.”

No formal action on Pyrite Canyon development or on the EIR was taken by the Planning Commission during the meeting. Commissioners acknowledged the comments and thanked speakers for attending; city staff did not provide a presentation or formal response on the canyon at this hearing.

The meeting record shows repeated public concern about the site’s contamination and community health impacts; those concerns will remain part of the public record for any related future actions by the city or developers.