Hi, many of you have noticed "construction" in and above the olive grove at the mouth of Modjeska. After a UCI biologist examined the trees, which are in a county owned public right-of-way, and saw their root balls had been sliced and other damage done, as well as hearing from a member of the Crocker family that formerly owned the land and is upset about what is occurring there, I reached out on behalf of the Inter-Canyon League to Supervisor Wagner's office and the newish head of county planning, along with Scott Breeden and Geoff Sarkissian.
Tomorrow night, Tuesday at 7 pm, OC Planning manager Justin Kirk, will speak at this month's ICL meeting. Due to expected heavy rains and possible evacuations, the meeting will be held via Zoom.
PLEASE LOG IN TO WATCH HIS PRESENTATION, AND TO SHOW CANYON RESIDENTS CARE ABOUT PRESERVING OUR SCENIC CANYON ENTRANCE.
You don't have to speak, or you can ask questions if you want. He and his staff are investigating carefully. No permits have been issued for construction, nor will they be without public hearings on site development plans for each lot. OC Public Works is monitoring the lots closely during the storms for possible erosion and mud flows.
But it's less clear what will be done about the historic olive trees, planted almost 125 years ago by Madame Modjeska's husband, Count Bozenta. We'd like to make clear to Mr. Kirk and other county officials that the scenic viewshed should be restored, the ersatz fencing and retaining walls removed, the earth behind the trees replaced, and the olive trees fully protected and replaced with full-grown trees if necessary, to be signed off on by a certified arborist. The trees are within a public right of way on county land. The activity also violates the Silverado Modjeska Specific Plan, our local zoning document.
Email from Justin Kirk, OC Public Works
Janet,
My apologies in the delay of response, but resolving this has taken longer than anticipated. The short answer is that no permits have been issued at this time for any grading or construction activities on any of the “Crocker” parcels. Part of why this has taken longer is that the once two (2) properties have been subdivided into four (4) and some of the County’s record tracking system has not been adequately updated so some information is tied to one (1) lot that doesn’t exist, while other information may be tied to another lot that does exist… the table below describes the subdivision of land:
Code cases have been opened on all four (4) lots and Officers are working through our standard procedures. APN 866-051-01 is the only lot that has had permits applied for, however those records should correlate to 866-051-03 as 866-051-01 is no longer a legal lot. The first permits applied for were building and plumbing permits (BLD22-1308 and PLB22-0405), these applications were withdrawn when the applicant was advised that a Site Development Permit would be necessary and Planning staff conveyed the level of information and review needed to process the SDP. APN 866-051-03 was subsequently sold to the current owner. Said owner applied for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits (BLD22-2468, ELE22-1910, MEC22-1295 & PLB22-1574), these permits show an open status as the application is pending review as the permits cannot be plan checked without a SDP being approved. Planning staff has again conveyed the information and review needed to process the SDP. To date an application has not been made, which is not wholly unanticipated as the volume of information needed to be prepared is substantial. I believe that the “open” status has led to the confusion of permits being issued… but an open status is not an issued status and to reiterate no permits have been issued.
With respect to the SDP processing and more directly to the question of notice, no notice was provided as no application for a SDP has been made and as such no public hearings were noticed. Once an application has been made, it will be reviewed and processed culminating in review of the project at a Public Hearing. Additionally, as part of the SDP review there will be OCFA review and comprehensive environmental review. Upon action by the Zoning Administrator that action can be appealed to the Planning Commission. I have added a note to all the lots that I receive communication when an application has been made and will communicate that proactively to the ICL.
With respect to the ongoing code enforcement activity we are actively inspecting the site and are in contact with all four (4) owners as to the violations and course action to remedy. Additionally, OCPW Operations and Maintenance has been regularly inspecting the lots to check erosion and any need for remedial work to prevent erosion. I am significantly concerned that the extensive work that has been done is going to sit in an unfinished state for a period of time that coincides with the rainy season that erosion may occur and have asked that some restorative work under permit can occur to restore the site to protect against the aforementioned erosion.
I apologize for the somewhat Abbot and Costello routine of who’s on first with all the lots and the potential miscommunication on the notion of a permit being issued. If there is any need to discuss via call please let me know.
Regards,
Justin
Justin Kirk, AICP Planning Division Manager OC Public Works Development Services/Planning Division 601 N. Ross Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 (714) 667-8895
From: Janet Wilson
Attention: This email originated from outside the County of Orange. Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Justin, interesting. The resident said she spoke with Albert "Al" Brady at the building department, who told her a permit had just been issued on the one lot where the home burned years ago. His numbers were 714-667-9787 and 714-304-6754. It's difficult to follow the PRA response documents for the Katelaris stie, but I did receive several files, I'll try to look at them more closely as soon as I can! And on the Crocker properties, again, we were told that prior to issuance of site development grading permits, ICL and subjacent neighbors would be notified, because there is a legal appeal period for those. If any permits were issued, can you see if there was any public notice? And at whatever point is appropriate in resolving the NOV's, can you notify us and impacted neighbors below the lots of what is being applied for and reviewed, so we and they have time to comment and/or appeal if necessary? Folks in the Sil-Mod area often have years of experience living in unique topographies that newcomers aren't always familiar with, and their input upfront can be very useful.
And hope you and all have very happy holidays.
Thanks again, Janet
On Mon, Dec 19, 2022 at 8:42 PM Scott Breeden to Justin,
Thank you very much for responding so quickly to Janet's inquiry.
I do not have any documents related to the Crocker properties newer than 2012, when the Inter-Canyon League submitted comments to the Planning Commission. So I look forward to seeing whatever was reportedly approved in 2016 plus any related documents that OCPW may find.
-Scott Breeden
On Mon, Dec 19, 2022 at 3:42 PM Kirk, Justin <justin wrote: Janet,
I still unable to identify that permits were issued to the Crocker properties. I checked with our Permitting Division as they would be the one issuing the permit and they could not find a record. In addition I have asked our Building Division to check as well, but still have not heard back. You are correct Code Enforcement responded based upon your email and the lack of permits being issued. A Stop Work order and Notice of Violation were issued for the grading observed, resolution of the NOV would require restoration of the site via permitted process or completion of the work after the issuance of a permit. In both circumstances a permit would be required. Relevant documents related to either property will be provided as part of the Records Request process. We are currently working on tagging properties within our GIS database to reflect the request for notice. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Regards,
Justin
Justin Kirk, AICP Planning Division Manager OC Public Works Development Services/Planning Division 601 N. Ross Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 (714) 667-8895
