The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled both for and against Silver City residents seeking to block expansion of Comstock Mining’s mine. Our contributor Brook Bentley of the Northern Nevada Business Weeklyreports.
The decision, made earlier this month, says the Lyon County Commission did not violate the Open Meeting Law or abuse its discretion in amending its master plan to allow the mine's expansion.
But the state high court disagreed with District Judge Robert Estes who threw out claims made by the Comstock Residents Association. That group alleges that he failed to consider the impact of the zoning change on their lands. They also argue that two commissioners should have been barred from voting because of conflicts of interest involving the mining company.
Those two arguments were remanded to the district court for further proceedings.
The battle over Comstock Mining’s efforts to expand mining operations in the area has been going on since 2010 when the Lyon commission originally denied the application.
