The perennially unfinished houses at the corner of Moon Mountain Road and Highway 12 came down this week, as a bulldozer and crew began demolishing the structures – much to the relief of neighbors and daily commuters who have been living with two eyesore buildings for much too long.
By Thursday morning one of the two buildings was completely gone, and workers on the site said the other structure would be demolished by Monday, Oct. 12. “I think every resident up and down Moon Mountain is glad to see those two buildings come down,” said Dennis Kavanagh, a leader in neighborhood opposition to the ill-starred project.
Ironically, there had not been a permit issued for the buildings’ demolition, which caused a temporary flurry of concern in county offices. But a contract between the new owners and the county was uncovered that included a clause stating, “A demolition permit shall not be required.”
That contract – actually a Declaration of Covenants, Restrictions and Conditions, or CC&R – had been negotiated with Permit and Resource Management Department inspections manager Ben Neuman for the county.
Neuman was on vacation this week and could not be reached for clarification, but PRMD director Tennis Wick called to confirm that no permit was required in this case. “They are authorized to deconstruct a partially constructed structure,” he said.
Meanwhile, as well as overseeing the demolition of the two buildings, the new owner-of-record for the properties, KS Mattson Partners of Sacramento, is taking steps to soothe the neighborhood’s – and the county’s – ruffled feathers. “We have been working to connect with neighbors and intend to keep them updated on our progress along the way,” said Tim Sloat, for the property management company overseeing the project. “I am always happy to hear from them and hope they will not be shy about reaching out to me with questions.”
The two buildings at 70 Moon Mountain Road and 16581 Highway 12 initially took shape in 2013, when permits for a single-family dwelling with attached second dwelling were issued in May that year. Most of the permits were paid and are still valid – although the permit for sewer hook up and inspection was voided due to an outstanding balance of over $23,000.
Soon, however, the neighbors were complaining – about construction practices, open trash, sewage concerns, loud generators, workers living in their cars on-site, and the loss of eight mature California live oaks that were killed by negligent construction practices.
A PRMD inspector driving along Highway 12 raised official concerns about the project when he noticed a large sign reading “Welcome to your Dream Home! Mediterranean Villas Coming Soon!” The permits for the construction were issued for single-family dwellings, constructed by owner/contractor.
The promise of the signs told a very different story.
Work was finally stopped in February 2014, when a PRMD investigation found that the license number recorded for Sigfrido O. Orozco, the owner/contractor of record, belonged to another non-related contracting business in Southern California.
When confronted with the discrepancy, and a number of other “non-compliant features,” Orozco “just walked away from that job and left it in disarray,” according to PRMD’s Neuman, as the Index-Tribune reported last year.
Wick said the department was “involved in an on-going investigation of an unlicensed contractor purporting to be a licensed contractor. That’s been taken over by the state, and we’re cooperating with them.”
Leading up to that point, and for the year and a half following, a group of neighbors organized a passionate effort to first arrest, then rectify the Moon Mountain debacle. They started a website, constructionteardown.com, filled with a timeline, contacts, supporting information and an online petition “supporting permanent shutdown of the project and tear down of the buildings.”
Between the construction standstill and the buildings’ teardown, the property ownership appeared to change hands like a shell game – a panoply of finance companies and trusts are in the property thread, and several of them are currently involved in legal action.
The current owners, KS Mattson Partners, took title in September of this year, after agreeing to pay over $4,000 in fees and penalties, and post a $15,000 cash bond to guarantee performance.
Kavanagh, the Moon Mountain resident who many credit with marshaling opposition to the development, said succinctly, “It’s been a long process … The neighbors all the way up Moon Mountain and a good portion of Highway 12 are very concerned about how that earlier project occurred, and everyone feels very strongly, let’s do it right the second time.”
Alison Kilmer, who lives across the street from the controversial properties, expressed relief that they were being torn down, and said that people throughout the county seemed happy to see them go, too. “People have been stopping all day and taking pictures,” she said. “The whole neighborhood is aligned on this.”
“This is a fresh start, with a great professional team and seasoned ownership, and we hope the county and our neighbors will give us the benefit of the doubt as to our intentions and capabilities,” said Sloat.
KS Mattson intends to build two new primary residences, with second units, to conform to zoning and building codes, including “scenic corridor” setback in alignment with the Sonoma County General Plan 2020.
“These new homes will also be much more carefully designed to work with the landscape and enhance – not detract from – the local aesthetics,” said Sloat.
Those were essentially the terms under which the development was originally permitted in 2013, but the new owners – and the neighbors – all hope that this time, things will be different.
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