La Paja Lane Remodel Update

Homeowners in Mission Viejo’s Mission Ridge neighborhood have endured a remodeling project that rivals the Winchester Mansion of San Jose. Into its tenth year, Mission Ridge’s La Paja Lane remodel is supposed to be completed in mid-December. In May, the completion date was September.

The owner of the remodeling project got the public’s attention earlier this year by requesting a permit to build an 18-car underground garage. The permit was denied. The house has grown to 9,000 square feet, with much of the work initiated without permits or concern for city code. When Mission Ridge homeowners have complained, city officials have, at best, demonstrated leniency toward the perpetual remodeler.

City Hall set a precedent in 2003 when another remodeling project was incomplete after one year. The construction project on Seranata Drive was scrutinized from across the street where a city employee lives. The city employee complained, and the city took action, suing the homeowner who was doing the work.

To view the current time line for completion of the La Paja Lane project, follow (this link).

Mission Viejo community watchdog Joe Holtzman commented on the time line, “This document is pretty much of a joke. There are two types of tracking tools that are typically used for this kind of planning and tracking of a project. One is a Gantt Chart, http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/ppc/gant-chart.htm?id=45112&gclid=CN-Lr-SPiZ4CFQ8MDQodYlHSoQ

and the other is Microsoft Project, http://office.Microsoft.com/en-us/project/HA102130271033.aspx

The project overseers truly have no idea what they are doing, and this document proves it. Or maybe it is purposefully constructed to mislead people or confuse them. Please note they have missed a number of key dates and have rescheduled others. This rescheduling will be lost to the document in the next update, as they will most likely measure themselves to their new dates, not the original dates. So much for the poor citizens who have to live with this ongoing assault on their lives.”

As of Nov. 13, the construction manager’s anticipated completion dates are Dec. 15 for exterior work and Dec. 21 for interior work.