A community's fight to stop a Lake County sand mine might not be over after all.

County commissioners voted down a proposal in March to bring the sand mine to the Clermont area, but Cemex is suing everyone who opposed them, including commissioners and even the area's residents.

They traveled by the busload to a zoning meeting and then a final vote by the Lake County Commission. Each time, a group of residents opposed to building a 1,200-acre sand mine near their homes were successful in defeating the giant corporation Cemex's bid.

In the Heritage Hills community cardroom on Monday, residents discussed how their fight might be far from over.

Late last week, Cemex filed an appeal asking a judge to quash the commission's decision denying the company a conditional use permit, and force them to reconsider.

"It will change development completely, because all the planning we have done to make sure this is a quality development, with a mixture of commercial and residential, is not going to happen if there's a sand mine in the midst of it," said Clermont Mayor Gail Ash.

In the lawsuit, Cemex contends Lake County commissioners relied on a sector plan for the area to make their decision, which has yet to be approved by the state and formally adopted.

A county spokesperson said no one could comment on pending litigation, but added anyone who is denied a permit can always reapply. Those hearings can't take place for at least a year and can be denied if no significant changes are made to the plan.

But now, if a judge rules in Cemex's favor, the sand mine could be back before Lake County commissioners much sooner than that, but residents say so will they.

"I think it's important enough that we have to," said Helen Ebaugh, of Clermont. "What choice do we have? So, we have to do what we have to do."

"Their minds haven't changed," Mayor Ash said. "They still don't want it near here."

"Cemex expects to be able to move forward with this project providing, among other benefits, additional jobs and tax benefits to Lake County," said Sara Engdahl, Cemex's communications director.

Though they weren't named as a respondent, Cemex also blamed Orange County for voting to ban heavy vehicles on the road they planned to use just hours before the hearing on the sand mine. They called that decision arbitrary and capricious.