Lower Curtis Reaches New Heights
Editorial staff

The city is again converting the open space along Olympiad Road at Lower Curtis Park to a dump. Watchdogs have been observing piles of dirt grow from just a few truckloads on July 27 to more than 100 mounds on Aug. 8. Viewed from the east, the mounds rise to 25 feet in height. Brad Morton broke the story on his city news blog, http://missionviejodispatch.com on Aug. 8.

As a similar situation in 2003, the city staff’s snafu at Lower Curtis occurred when Granich Construction was a city contractor. Lacking legitimate work for Granich, the city created a bogus grading project. First, various city contractors dumped tons of debris in the Lower Curtis open space. Next, the city paid Granich more than $200,000 to spread it around. City staffers falsely claimed debris was piling up due to illegal dumping by unknown culprits. Residents who lived nearby said it was primarily the city’s own contractors, including Granich and others involved in slope work or making sidewalks compatible with ADA standards. Eventually, the city staff admitted to circumventing the council. The grand jury declined to investigate a citizen’s complaint because the council had approved payment to Granich, giving the appearance of approving the work.

Beyond zoning issues of turning the area into a landfill, the open space below Curtis Park is a wildlife corridor, gnatcatcher habitat and an environmentally sensitive area. Because a stream borders the parcel, it is protected by the Dept. of Fish and Game. Any disturbance of the environment should be reported to Fish and Game – and it will be.

Last week, Brad Morton contacted the city manager, who said the dirt is being transported from the Crown Valley Pkwy widening project by All American Asphalt. Wilberg said the reason for dumping it at Lower Curtis is to “save money” by avoiding transport to another location. His explanation doesn’t hold water, and since when do city hall’s spendaholics care about saving money?

Those who recently walked the site noticed signs of earlier dumping. A mound of considerable height (10-15 feet when viewed from the east) has been compacted. In the newer phase, approximately 100 truckloads (mostly dirt, but also sand, asphalt and broken concrete) have been added. From the soil colors and composition, the 100 truckloads came from approximately 35 different sources.

On Aug. 6, a resident reported to this blog that a truck belonging to San Juan Capistrano rentals dumped a load at Lower Curtis, exited and locked the gate. Will the city claim unknown culprits with keys to city locks are “vandalizing” the area with illegal dumping? Contrary to the city manager’s statement to Morton, the mounds include debris and other materials, not just dirt.

A resident reacted to the city manager’s claims: “I disagree with his story. You can tell by looking at the different mounds that they’re not from the same location. I’m frequently on Crown Valley, and there is no excavation going on – certainly nothing of a magnitude to claim all this material is coming from the road widening. The areas being worked on are fairly flat, and the walls are already in place. What he’s saying is ridiculous and obviously false to anyone who is paying attention.”

This is a city manager who has no trouble fooling the council and his list of “Mission Viejo’s 30 Most Confused Residents.” Everyone else is free to call his bluff.