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			Halt Illegal Grading!
		Geocon Caught Illegally Grading Hills Above Santee Lakes for Pardee Destruction of Environmentally Sensitive Lands is a region wide problem! Sierra Club Canyons Committee documents problem & proposes solutions. STOP WORK ORDER IS IN EFFECT. IF YOU SEE GRADING OF HILLS CALL: SAN DIEGO CODE COMPLIANCE @ 571-8454 OR 236-5920 City of Santee Code Compliance @ 258-4100 Santee's northern hills from Mission Trails Regional Park across to the Fanita Ranch are at risk - Please be vigilant.
		"They actually went out with a bulldozer," Hellman said. "They basically graded a road... "As chairman of the City Council's Natural Resources and Culture Committee, Madaffer has scheduled a public hearing May 16 to examine the Geocon case." "San Diegans love their neighborhood canyons," said Eric Bowlby, a canyon preservation organizer with the local chapter of the Sierra Club. "They're an escape into nature from an otherwise completely urbanized environment." Developer work hurts habitat Grading near Santee is under investigation By Norberto Santana Jr. STAFF WRITER May 5, 2001 SAN DIEGO -- Bulldozers may have illegally carved roads into a pristine canyon near Mission Trails Regional Park, angering residents, environmentalists and a city councilman trying to preserve the land. Code enforcement inspectors are expected next week to sanction a subcontractor working for Pardee Construction, one of the region's largest home developers. San Diego City Councilman Jim Madaffer also has scheduled a public hearing on the violation. City officials issued a stop-work order last week against Geocon, a geotechnical company, when it was discovered the company was destroying sensitive habitat on grassy hillside fields near San Diego's eastern border with Santee. Geocon complied with the order and city inspectors said the company has cooperated with their investigation. Code enforcement officials said they will issue a notice of violation to Geocon and to property owners. They expect the responsible parties to submit a biological study and a restoration plan. Officials with both companies seem to agree on that remedy. "In any event, impacted areas that were not previously disturbed will be restored and revegetated in compliance with applicable laws and regulations," according to a statement issued by Beth Fischer, director of community development for Pardee Homes. If the two sides cannot agree on remedies, the case would be referred to the city attorney for criminal or civil prosecution. The fields lie along Sycamore and Spring canyons, just east of the Sycamore Landfill. Private landowners control a series of small tracts scattered near the Santee border. Together, the fields form the lower slopes of the canyons and are full of rare coastal sage scrub and native grasses dissected by hiking trails. The area also is within the city's Multiple Species Conservation Plan, and Madaffer said he hopes to get the city to buy the land tracts with state park funds. He estimates there is as much as 2,000 acres of land that could be connected to nearby Mission Trails Regional Park. For the Santee residents living on Medina Drive, the grassy fields are practically extensions of their back yards. "San Diegans love their neighborhood canyons," said Eric Bowlby, a canyon preservation organizer with the local chapter of the Sierra Club. "They're an escape into nature from an otherwise completely urbanized environment." Residents said they had seen construction workers and bulldozers on the fields for months. Geocon was testing rock samples for a Pardee residential development called the East Elliott project. Pardee officials said they are considering buying several land tracts that have been designated for residential development in the Elliott Community Plan. Geocon chief executive officer Mike Chapin said it is possible his company erred in the field measurements where their work was being conducted but it did not intentionally damage sensitive brush and grasses. Chapin said the company did not seek city permits or notify officials because their rock sampling is exempt from environmental reviews or permits. Code enforcement and planning officials say the company misinterpreted the law. Paul Hellman, a senior city planner, said the exemption only covers light impacts. A permit is not needed if a truck drives over grasslands to extract small soil samples. Geocon did much more than that, Hellman said. "They actually went out with a bulldozer," Hellman said. "They basically graded a road, which is not covered under this exemption." After hearing resident complaints, local environmentalists surveyed the site. They photographed the bulldozing, identified the brush and grasses as endangered, and notified city inspectors. City officials responded immediately, and last week Madaffer and city inspectors flew over the site to verify the extent of road carving and drilling sites. "I was pretty amazed to see the extent of the grading," Madaffer said. During their own walking tour of the site, code enforcement and planning officials described the violation as serious. "They should know better," said Tony Khalil, acting deputy director of code enforcement for San Diego. "It is definitely in the city's (Multiple Species Conservation Plan). They should have, at a minimum, informed the city of their planned work." As chairman of the City Council's Natural Resources and Culture Committee, Madaffer has scheduled a public hearing May 16 to examine the Geocon case. Madaffer said he also wants to see if the city's development code needs to be clarified. "I want to make sure council policy and the law is clear," he said. Chapin agrees a hearing would produce a healthy debate and review. "It's a topic worth discussing," he said. "There is ambiguity there." Environmentalists said Geocon and Pardee were reckless in their conduct. They called on city officials to strictly enforce city regulations. "They've done a lot of damage out here," said Van Collinsworth, an activist with Preserve Wild Santee. "(Geocon) had to know that between February and August, grading sage scrub is a no-no." The Sierra Club's Bowlby said the city should consider barring any development on the land for several years because of the violation. "We want the city to enforce the hillside protections and create a deterrent to violations," he said.