Work stalls pose issues

Insurance that the city won’t get stuck with the bill to make unfinished construction projects safe is being considered.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct City Manager Ken Frank and City Atty. Philip Kohn to look into the possibility of requiring a larger bond for grading to ensure the city doesn’t end up with projects that are a safety hazard and expensive to mitigate.

“About a month ago it was brought to my attention that there was a hole in the middle of a street — apparently the contractor went belly-up,” Councilwoman Toni Iseman said. “There is another big hole in Diamond Crestview. And on Ceanothus you will see three big homes and the biggest hole in the ground outside of the Grand Canyon.

“It’s very dangerous. And in this economy, these projects are going to sit there.”

Frank said the city averages one uncompleted construction project about every two years.

“Construction starts and stops,” Frank said. “Sometimes it stops so long that we have to reissue building permits. But there is enough value that eventually someone is going to complete the project.”

According to Frank, the uncompleted projected on Ceanothus is not unstable — the hillside is breccia — and does not threaten surrounding homes. However, he said an uncompleted project on Alexander Street in South Laguna poses a real hazard.

“The owner is in ill health, and he refuses to do anything about it,” Frank alleged. “There is a provision in the building code that allows us to correct the situation.”

Iseman proposed a substantially larger grading bond from a project’s responsible party that would provide funds to remedy such hazards in a timely manner without costing the city upfront.

Morningside Drive resident Rick Holder suggested requiring a performance bond — “something more Draconian” than proposed by Iseman.

His home is next door to a house that was started three years and is still unfinished.

“The foundations are in and the framing, but no work has been done in this calendar year,” Holder said. “We’ve already had one incident with kids playing around there and the police were called.”

Holder said the house was approved before the Mansionization Ordinance was passed and after the 1997 El Niño. He estimated the required foundations cost about $1 million.

“It is now in default and owned by a bank in Texas,” Holder said. “So we have a really big house, costing a lot more money than the area can support.”

The city’s code enforcement officer is on the case.

Legal action can be initiated against the owner or whoever is the responsible party, Kohn said. He will look into how other jurisdictions are handling the problem of uncompleted projects and report back to the council.

BARBARA DIAMOND can be reached at (949) 494-4321 or [email protected].