Lakeside Heights property owners file tort claims alleging county water system caused landslide

NORTH LAKEPORT, Calif. – Forty-one property owners in a north Lakeport subdivision where a landslide this spring destroyed several homes and led to the voluntary evacuation of many more have filed tort claims alleging the county of Lake is to blame for the slide.

The tort claims – totaling 214 pages – were filed July 3 with the county of Lake by property owners in the Lakeside Heights subdivision, located off of Hill Road across from Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Each claim is seeking damages in excess of $5 million, but according to Michael Green of the Santa Rosa law firm Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery – which is representing all of the subdivision's property owners – a total dollar amount for all of the claims hasn't yet been determined.

“At this point it’s too early to say, there’s been a number of homes completely destroyed,” he said.

Green added that it's unclear at this point whether all of the homes will be red-tagged.

“It’s a tragic situation,” he said.

County Counsel Anita Grant said the claims have been sent to the county's third-party administrator.

Such claims follow a process that includes a 45-day period in which the county may take action. During that time, the county's third-party administrator, the George Hills Co., either accepts or rejects the claim, according to the steps in the process.

If rejected – and such claims often are – the landowners would then have six months to file suit against  the county.

The filing may be a first for the sheer size and number of claims lodged against the county.

“I cannot remember any time when this many claims have been received involving the same allegations/circumstances,” Grant said.

The claims filed against the county on July 3 were lodged by James Andrews, Argonaut Properties LLC (two claims, one by and through its agent, Mark Tanti, a second by and through its agent, James Andrews), Carol Blair, Terry Blair, Alberta Diaz, Lois Deuchar, Robert Deuchar, Blanka Doren, Randall Fitzgerald, Jose Martinez Florez, Jonathan Gibson, Rachell Gibson, Manpreet Gill, Anton Herling (two claims), Floyd Hollenback, Kory Hudson, Garey Hurn, Fred Johnson, Vernetta Johnson, Mike Kropa, Lakeside Heights Homeowners Association (through its president, Robert Deuchar), Odell Landers III, Paul Loewen, Sheryl Loewen, Lam Mai, Daniel Malugani, Marian Malugani, Kevin Nguyen, Taryn Norton, Nanette Ruth, Paul Ruth, Roderick Schnabl Jr., Jagtar Singh, Robin Spivey, Scott Spivey, Nancy Steenburgh, Tyrone Steenburgh, Mark Tanti, Heidi Thomason and Eleanor Young.

The tort claims were taken to the Board of Supervisors for a closed session discussion on Tuesday.

Searching for the source

This past March, large cracks began to open up along Lancaster Road, which runs through the 29-home hilltop subdivision of mostly Tudor-style homes first developed in the early 1980s.

Over the next two months seven homes were red-tagged and about 10 others were voluntarily evacuated as the fissures in the earth widened, causing one home to fall into a hole, another to essentially split in half and the back of one home to fall off as its deck fell away with the hillside.

The ground was determined to be saturated, and the county had four leak tests conducted over a three-month period to try to find the source of the water.

The first test, conducted March 25 by Specialized Utility Services Program, a subsidiary of California Rural Water Association, suggested a 2-inch irrigation line owned by the Lakeside Heights homeowner’s association possibly was the culprit.

The next three leak tests were carried out by Utility Services Associates.

Testing on May 9-10 revealed two leaks within the county-maintained water system, while another survey on May 25 found a small leak in a valve on a service road. The fourth leak test on June 16 found a small leak at a service connection for a vacant lot, with another possible small leak detected by a microphone.

While the leak tests were taking place, in April the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency and sought a state emergency proclamation from the governor in an effort to get additional funding and assistance to address the landslide.

That same month the Board of Supervisors authorized Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger to hire a civil sanitary engineer to come up with a design for moving the damaged infrastructure at Lakeside Heights, approving a $350,000 emergency loan for the work.

Dellinger reported last month that state grant funds the county is receiving may cover the costs.

The county was notified June 18 that Gov. Jerry Brown declined the emergency proclamation request.

What the claims allege

The claims allege the county, its Special Districts department and other departments as yet unknown to the property owners either participated in the planning, design and construction of the public water and sewer system or accepted the system into its districts at some point before March 2013.

Further, the claimants allege that the public water system serving the subdivision “failed in that numerous breaks occurred and/or existed in said public water system such that a substantial flow of water, over some unknown period of time, leaked into the land/hillside.”

The claims state that it's “a direct and proximate result” of that water system failure that water leaked into the hillside and destabilized it.

The landslide, subsidence and earth movement that began in March 2013 subsequently damaged homes, land and improvements, as well as diminishing their value, according to the claims.

Green and his law firm were approached by property owners in the subdivision at about the same time that the county began trying to mitigate the subdivision's landslide, he said.

In the process of building the case to date, Green estimated that “several thousand” documents have been gathered, with more expected through public records act requests and legal discovery.

Based on the investigation so far and the information that's currently available, “It’s our conclusion that the county is responsible,” Green said.

“The county lines have dumped a significant amount water into the hillside,” he said.

The Lakeside Heights development has had a long series of developers, some of them running into legal trouble – such as Ken Baker, charged in 1988 for dealings associated with Lakeside Heights in which he stole money from companies and individuals – or having issues with government agencies for failing to follow state and local development rules, as was the case with the late Leonard Jay, according to documents obtained by Lake County News.

While Green couldn't say at this point who else might become the target of the property owners' legal action, he did say possible defendants won't include past developers, as all of the current issues are being attributed by the property owners to the water in the hillside.

He asserted that the subdivision – first developed in the 1980s – hasn't had problems until now due to the hillside saturation.

John Jensen contributed to this report.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 17 July 2013

Council hears weed abatement report, agrees to participate in next month's 'National Night Out'

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday evening the Lakeport City Council heard a detailed report on the county's weed abatement efforts in areas including the city's shoreline, and also approved a plan to participate in the August “National Night Out.”

Mayor Tom Engstrom was absent for the Tuesday meeting, which was presided over by Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina.

Scott De Leon, the county's Water Resources and Public Works director, gave the council an update on the weed abatement efforts taking place on Clear Lake, which began for the summer season last month.

He said the program started in 2011, when the Board of Supervisors set aside $1.3 million for weed and algae abatement.

In the first year the county spent more than $500,000. At that point, the efficacy for handling algae wasn't what they had hoped for and in 2012 the county tried some different techniques for algae abatement. In the end, De Leon said algae proved to be a larger problem than the county could handle, and the board directed him to focus on weeds.

Two contractors – Aquatic Environments and Pestmaster Services – are working on about 207 acres of surface area of the lake this summer, at a cost of about $274,000, De Leon said.

The majority of the treatment being done along Lakeport's shoreline is mechanical harvesting, with some areas treated with chemicals due to the presence of hydrilla, a new patch of which was found by the Skylark Hotel, De Leon said. State rules don't allow for hydrilla to be mechanically harvested

The contractors are cutting boat lanes and a shoreline lane along the outer edges of private docks and piers to help boats move out to the deeper areas of the lake without getting props caught in the weeds, De Leon explained.

The program didn't get started until later in June this year, De Leon said. “We weren't sure we were going to be able to do the program.”

That was because earlier this year the California Department of Fish and Wildlife began a yearlong review period of a petition to list the Clear Lake hitch as an endangered species. During that review period, the hitch are afforded the same protections as a listed species, De Leon said.

The county had to work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make sure that an environmental document for weed abatement the county completed in the 2006-07 fiscal year was adequate. Ultimately the state found that the county's plan addressed the hitch, but De Leon said that determination took time.

At the same time, weeds started growing earlier and were farther along by the time the county's contractors were able to get going to clear boat lanes before the busy July 4 holiday weekend, he said.

De Leon said Lakeport is having issues with algae this year, with extremely unusual weather likely a factor. He said there have been record hot temperatures in June and July, as well as unseasonably cool temperatures and strange wind patterns.

He said an east wind was blowing in Lakeport on Tuesday afternoon, with white caps on the lake. “That is an extremely unusual wind event for mid-July in the afternoon,” he said, adding, “For some reason things are changing.”

The wind from the east pushes algae into the shoreline, where boat docks trap it, giving rise to algae mats. De Leon said the wind usually blows out of the west, causing algae to gather in the Oaks Arm of the lake and near Clearlake, where algae problems often are much worse than in Lakeport.

He said it's important to keep the water moving to help break up algae. “We just are at the mercy of what nature brings us.”

De Leon also addressed rumors of a new algae being found in the lake.

It's not new, he said; it's a form of blue green algae, or cyanobacteria, confirmed through a testing sample. Called phormidium, it's always been in the lake but hasn't been predominant until this year.

De Leon said cyanobacteria can create toxins, but he said such toxins are very low in Clear Lake and often are not detectable. “The lake isn't producing toxins like other lakes do.”

He also explained to the council that weeds, as a part of the ecosystem, are important in their own right. They help deal with nutrients and have beneficial uses, although they present problems for boating.

“Our strategy has been to provide access to high use areas and historical recreational areas and then let the rest of the weeds grow,” said De Leon.

Councilman Kenny Parlet said Clear Lake is a statewide, if not a worldwide, treasure, and he suggested that local officials needed to advocate larger government agencies for more money. “It's way too big for us to manage.”

Saying that Clear Lake is an important economic engine, Parlet wanted to know if there was a way to advocate in a concerted way for more resources.

In response, De Leon suggested putting things in perspective.

He said the quagga mussel is probably the greatest threat to navigation, economies and environment, and it's already been found in Southern California.

De Leon said the state thinks it's doing a great job controlling the movement of quagga mussels, “And they aren't doing anything.”

He continued, “So when you ask me if there is a way to get help, I'm going to tell you from my perspective, no, it's going to require a whole lot of effort from way up high in some state agency.”

A few years ago the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency and tried to get other counties to do the same thing and get state recognition for the quagga threat. De Leon said about half of the state's 58 counties bought into the effort. He and Supervisor Anthony Farrington then went to a meeting of rural counties, where they were barely given any time on the agenda to discuss it.

“We can't seem to find the money to prevent it. And that's the challenge,” said De Leon, who apologized for being a pessimist.

“Give it to me straight,” said Parlet.

De Leon responded by saying there isn't a big pot of money to help the county address its weed and algae issues.

Councilman Martin Scheel asked how close the county is on the Middle Creek Restoration Project, meant to restore more than 1,650 acres of former wetlands on the Northshore to Clear lake.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is the lead agency, said De Leon. While a lot of effort has been put into it by county officials and a consultant, George Speake, hired to help the supervisors with the project, and while it has generated interest and momentum, even then, it just crawls forward.

De Leon suggested to the council that there needs to be consideration for marketing Clear Lake a little differently than it has in the past, recognizing that at some times of the year the lake is not in good condition.

He said the county needs to recognize it has a season, and encourage people to come when the lake is good. “There are times when it doesn't behave nicely.”

However, De Leon pointed out that even during times of the year when the lake isn't in as good of shape, a small percentage of the overall lake is negatively impacted, and a boat ride out into the lake can allow a person to see spectacular water where swimming or any activity can take place.

“It's not Lake Tahoe and it's not a swimming pool, and it will never be that way,” De Leon said.

If the county has money next year, they will do another program. “We'll do whatever the available funding I have will allow me to do,” he said, noting that without such programs conditions will just get worse.

Appreciation for cooperating agencies, agreement to take part in 'National Night Out'

Following De Leon's presentation, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen gave the council an update on operations during the city's July 4 celebration.

He acknowledged several outside agencies who sent personnel to assist Lakeport Police that day, including Clearlake Police, California State Parks, Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Lake County Probation, and Lakeport Fire and Chief Ken Wells.

In addition, Rasmussen said Lakeport Grocery Outlet donated a significant amount of drinks and supplies to the command center that was set up in the council chambers in Lakeport City Hall that day. Rasmussen previously gave the business a citizens commendation for its generosity.

He also thanked Councilman Marc Spillman and Scheel for stopping in at the command center.

“It worked out well,” Rasmussen said of the day's operations.

Scheel said people could see officers coming and going from City Hall throughout the day, which he suggested helped set the tone for the event.

Also on Tuesday, City Manager Margaret Silveira took to the council a proposal to cancel the regularly scheduled Aug. 6 meeting and instead take part in National Night Out, which will be held in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 16th Street that evening.

The annual event, which began across the nation in 1984, is meant to raise awareness of crime prevention and community policing, she said.

Silveira said it will provide an opportunity for safety awareness outreach.

Staff suggested having the city council and staff on hand to meet with the community at the event, where the Lakeport Kiwanis have agreed to cook up the free hot dogs the city will provide. Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells is planning to bring a fire truck and fire personnel, Silveira said.

“Sounds fun,” said Mattina. “We've been wanting to do this forever.”

The council approved the proposal 4-0.

Council members present also unanimously approved a resolution brought forward by Public Works Director Mark Brannigan to amend the sewer user rates for commercial customers volume charge, increasing the allotted consumption amount from eight units to 10. The council had discussed the matter at its June 18 meeting and directed Brannigan to come back with the resolution.

Residential users have a flat rate, but commercial customers have to pay more after topping eight units, Brannigan said. He said the higher sewer charges were being assessed to customers whose water usage was not going into the sewer. He said the fiscal impact will be a loss of $16,435 in revenue.

Parlet said he thought it was a good move, suggesting that the lost revenue actually was money that was coming from commercial customers who shouldn't have to pay the fees in the first place.

“I think it's a great move and I think it shows we're trying to help advocate for business in any way we can,” Parlet said.

Parlet moved to adopt the resolution, which was approved 4-0.

In other business at the Tuesday evening meeting, on its consent agenda the council approved a contract for interim city manager services with the law firm Colantuono & Levin. Silveira introduced to the council attorney David Ruderman, who sat in on the meeting in the city attorney's spot.

At its meeting two weeks to the day before, the council had emerged from closed session to announce its unanimous vote to terminate the employment of longtime City Attorney Steve Brookes, who was in the audience for Tuesday night's meeting.

Also on Tuesday, Dennis Rollins, chair of the Westside Community Park Committee gave the council an update on the park, where phase two is nearing completion.

He said the baseball field needs a mound, and they want to get a drinking fountain and trash cans for the area.

A July 25 ribbon cutting will commemorate the new “Jane Barnes Field” sign in honor of a longtime youth advocate and park benefactor, Rollins said.

On Aug. 3 the committee will host the annual “Grillin' on the Green” event to raise funds for the park's development, according to Rollins.

Wilda Shock, chair of the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, gave an update on LEDAC's activities the first six months of this year.

The group – which includes residents of Lakeport as well as other parts of the county – is focusing on city branding, marketing efforts, looking at a regional economic development plan and helping to find future uses for the city's historic Carnegie Library.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 17 July 2013

Park committee to celebrate memory of benefactor at July 25 event

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Westside Community Park Committee in conjunction with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Westside Community Park on Thursday, July 25, between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The public is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

As phase two of the park’s development is nearing completion, the committee recently installed the “Jane Barnes Field” sign.

The installation follows action by the Lakeport City Council voting to name the field in Barnes’ honor.

Committee Chairperson Dennis Rollins said the committee had requested approval for the field naming based on “Jane’s long history of leadership in programs for young people and her overall activity in working to build a better Lake County.”

Jane and her husband, Vic Barnes, were early financial supporters of the park’s development as well, said Rollins.

When approached by park founder Charlie Jolin at the park’s inception, the Barnes family donated freely to the project and continued to do so until their death.

The Barnes’ children have continued that financial support through the Keeling-Barnes Family Foundation.

“The Keeling Barnes Family Foundation is sponsoring the Committee’s August 3 Grillin’ on the Green Barbecue Cook-Off. The Foundation will match all donations up to $5,000,” Rollins said.

According to Rollins, Jane and Vic Barnes and the foundation have donated nearly $90,000 to the park’s development.

“The sign installation, as with the park’s development, was once again accomplished through support from the community,” Rollins stated. “The committee purchased the sign but the installation was completed at no cost to the committee because of the donation of time, materials and equipment by RAD Construction, Sundance Tile and Granite, Clear Lake Redi-Mix and the city of Lakeport Public Works Department.”

Phase two of the Westside Community Park consists of four and one-half acres of playing fields including a baseball field, Little League/softball field and soccer fields.

The park is located at 1401 Westside Park Road off of Parallel Drive in Lakeport. It is right behind the Kathy Fowler auto dealership.

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 16 July 2013

Lakeport City Council to consider ‘National Night Out’ participation, city attorney services contract

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council this week will consider taking a night off next month and spending it visiting with the community during the annual “National Night Out,” and also is expected to approve a contract with a firm for interim city attorney services.

The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

City Manager Margaret Silveira will ask the council to consider canceling the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and instead participate in the National Night Out Community Block Party that night.

Silveira’s report to the council explained that the event would be an opportunity for the community to meet council members, staff and local emergency personnel at the Lakeport Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 600 16th St., which has volunteered its grounds and parking lot for the event.

She said the city would provide hot dogs and drinks, and a local service club has volunteered to do the cooking.

“Staff hopes to make this an annual event, which would be rotated to a different neighborhood each year,” Silveira said in her report.

In other council business, Public Works Director Mark Brannigan will take to the council a proposed resolution to amend the sewer user rates for commercial customers volume charge, established with Resolution No. 2463 (2012), increasing the allotted consumption amount from eight units to 10.

In public presentations, Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee Chair Wilda Shock will give the council an update on the committee’s activities, Lake County Water Resources Director Scott De Leon will discuss lakebed management with the council and the council will receive a report on the city’s July 4 events and operations.

On the consent agenda is a proposed contract with the law firm Colantuono & Levin – which is representing the city in its lawsuit against the county and the sheriff’s office over access to a law enforcement records system – for interim city attorney services.

Earlier this month, the council voted unanimously to terminate the contract of longtime City Attorney Steve Brookes, as Lake County News has reported.

The proposed contract calls for a monthly retainer fee of $6,000 for a minimum of 30 hours of work.

Other items on the consent agenda, which includes matters that are not considered controversial and which usually are accepted on one vote, are ordinances; warrants; minutes from the council’s July 2 meeting; building permit reports for April, May and June; an application for the Lakeport Yacht Club Catfish Derby; and appointment of Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia as alternate to the REMIF Board.

The council also will hold a closed session to discuss price and payment terms for a property currently under negotiation at 1400 South Main St., No. 12B.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

071613 Lakeport City Council agenda

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 15 July 2013