Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
A developer’s plan to build four homes on property off Via Santa Ynez in Marquez Knolls, where slides occurred in 1959 and again in 1966, has made neighbors uneasy. ‘I’m concerned as a homeowner and as a citizen,’ said Steve Miller, who lives on the Donna Ynez Lane cul-de-sac off Via Santa Ynez and across the street from the proposed subdivision. He and 43 other residents sent a petition to the city expressing their reservations. Houses have not been built on the 700 block of Via Santa Ynez since the 1966 slide, which destroyed two houses on Enchanted Way (the street on the hill above Via Santa Ynez) and severely damaged one other home. The slide tore up a huge segment of Via Santa Ynez, blocking in residents living on that street and Donna Ynez Lane. The slide was apparently caused by rain and poor geology, the Palisadian-Post reported in its February 10, 1966 issue. Miller and his neighbors are worried the hill could slide again under the weight of the new houses or as a result of the new homeowners irrigating their lawns. There is a significant amount of groundwater in the neighborhood, and many residents have sump-pumps in their basements. ‘The main goal is to work with the neighbors and with the city to make sure the hill is safe,’ said Regina Minor, representative for the developer, Reza Savebauwa and his family, The RS Family Partnership. Minor, principal of ARC Land Surveying and Engineering, said the RS Family Partnership doesn’t want the new homes to slide down the hillside either. Many residents would be trapped if a slide happens because the streets are one way. The partnership hired Sassan Geosciences to conduct a geological study and has since submitted a 1,000-page geology report for the city to review as part of its tentative parcel map application. ‘The whole hill is being studied, not just the four parcels,’ Minor said. RS Family Partnership is asking to create a subdivision by taking two large parcels and dividing them into four. Minor would not give specifics for how the hill would be stabilized, but said that the improvements would make the hill more secure than it is now. ‘There are different ways to go about stabilizing the hill, and I am not sure which one will be chosen,’ she said, adding the city will make the final decision. The entire application process could take a year or more. The neighbors, however, are asking for an independent geological report, encompassing the entire hillside. ‘We believe that an independent and unbiased geological study is an absolute necessity to protect the physical safety of those residing in the neighborhood,’ the residents wrote in their petition. At a L.A. Department of City Planning hearing on August 13, residents pointed out that RS Family Partnership also owns another adjacent lot on Via Santa Ynez. ‘It would be short-sighted and dangerous not to consider the totality of the project in terms of soil stability, impact of water tables, impact on traffic and impact on the character of the neighborhood,’ they wrote. Minor said that RS Family Partnership does not have plans to develop the additional lot right now and has decided to continue with the parcel map application process for the four lots rather than submit a tract map application, which is needed for the development of five or more. Nate Kaplan, communications deputy for Councilman Bill Rosendahl, said the city does not conduct its own geology report, but asks developers to hire a third-party engineer to do a report, which the city reviews. It is the developer’s responsibility to prove to the city that the site is sound for construction, he said. ‘The only way they can build on the site is if the City is satisfied with the report, and all conditions to ensure safety are implemented in the approval,’ Kaplan said. RS Family Partnership has also asked the city for the right to include the north fork of Via Santa Ynez (a dedicated public road that was never created) as part of the property. The partnership purchased the two small islands between the north fork and south fork of Santa Ynez. The neighbors do not want the city to turn over the north fork road to RS Family Partnership because it would make the parcels larger with different setback requirements, Miller said. The lots would be the largest in the neighborhood ‘ all of them greater than 12,000 square feet and two of them in excess of 15,000 square feet, Miller said. ‘[Homeowners] are afraid there will be mansions going in,’ said Haldis Toppel, president of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association. ‘They would like to have some distance between themselves and the new development.’ The north fork road has also become a meadow, where children play and deer graze. ‘People would like to see that land remain public parkland for all the neighbors to enjoy,’ Miller said. Minor responded that the developer asked for the public road in order to widen Via Santa Ynez to the required 36 feet and add a sidewalk. ‘Nobody is trying to move the property line,’ she said. After the 1966 slide, the city paved over part of the slide to re-create the south fork of Via Santa Ynez without disturbing the toe. As a result, the road is 20 feet wide with no sidewalk. ‘If the map is approved, then the developer will be required to comply with the Bureau of Engineering recommendation for street widening and improvements,’ Kaplan said. The neighbors have asked that the widening be done on the northeast side so as not to impinge on the existing properties and before construction begins. The main concern regarding the entire development, however, is safety. ‘We are not anti-development, but we want the development to be safe,’ Toppel said.
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