I have an idea you will be sold out of gaffs by the time the show is over

Quote from: mdoka_matt on May 16, 2022, 10:09:53 AM

Quote from: crash on May 16, 2022, 10:02:31 AM

So you misrepresented the size of the structure on the 2016 permit application with a wink and a nod to the then current county inspection officer?

I dont understand what you are saying?  I had nothing to do with the 2016 permit. The seller (Kovalam LLC - an investment Co. from San Diego) arranged that permit process.  THEY misrepresented the bedroom count and got an unpermittable system permitted.

You weren't involved at all in the 2016 permit process?  Did you sign anything, anywhere, at any time regarding the permit application?

Find an attorney who will advise you specifically about any liability for fraud, latent construction defect, etc. against Kovalam LLC.  Don't wait. The limitations period started when you knew or should have known of the fraud, deceit, defect, etc.

Not sure it's time to fight it in the press quite yet.  You may have someone on the hook to make you whole.

We discussed this option with our lawyer. He advised this as being expensive and uncertain. Said Kovalam is very likely to fight back legally, and even if we did win, it would probably not be worth the cost of the lawsuit-which would cost just as much as the septic upgrade.  I have pretty much accepted defeat at this point. Im just trying to put the county in the spotlight now. After the upgrade is complete, I plan to reply to my original email to EHS and Supervisors with a "Thank You Note". I.E Thank you for showing me how you (SC County) does business. You are unreliable, and unpredictable, and I will be very guarded in the future. It was an important lesson I will not soon forget. Ect. 

Quote from: fishbushing on May 16, 2022, 09:38:01 AM

Quote from: JohnnyAb on May 16, 2022, 09:31:47 AM

Can’t wait to see you on the news

+1

I just wish it was for largest bluefin pulled from the bay instead of this...

That story is up and coming. Stay tuned

We did hire an attorney. Other than explaining the situation clearly (something EHS was unwilling or able to do), the lawyer was not very effective. He basically explained that since we do have code violations (garage over the leach field), the county has the legal right to take their position. While they should have caught this in 2016, the county does not guarantee their work and is not held to account for their errors.  As far as the suspicious bedroom count issue goes, the lawyer agrees it is suspect, but is nearly impossible to prove. So basically we get fucked. 

My reason for posting this is to serve as a warning to SC residence. Get the county involved at your own risk. Whether our situation was caused by fraud or incompetence is up for debate, but we are being held to account for their failures.  I will think twice before EVER letting the county get involved anymore of my projects.  The safest thing I can do is  hide their own shity work from themselves for fear they might question their own work. EHS has made it clear they do not recognize the legality of our third bedroom, for which I have a permit. During our conversations they attempted to dissolve that permit too. They are dangerous, reckless, and unpredictable and I recommend people steer clear of that shit show.

I think somewhere, somehow, there is more to this story than we are being told.

There is indeed much more to the story. Please allow me to elaborate.

EHS cites two reasons preventing them from issuing the permits necessary to repair the damage caused by the tree incident. These are the presence of an unpermitted garage built over the leach field which is a code violation, and that the current system is only approved for a 2 bedroom home.
 
I have county documents which prove that the county has been aware of the garage since 2004 and subsequently issued at least 10 permits, including upgrades to the very same garage now being called unpermitted. According to EHS’s current logic, none of these permits should have been issued without first upgrading to an Enhanced Treatment System. Furthermore, I can show you that EHS knowingly altered the 2016 septic application to show the home as having 2 bedrooms instead of 3, and then approving the septic application for a 2 bedroom thus creating this discrepancy. But the question they refuse to answer is why wasn't any of this brought up in 2016 when they oversaw the replacement of the tank. WHY? The only two explanations are incompetence or fraud.


I have documents showing EHS acknowledging the home as having 3 bedrooms in 2002 and again in 2004, as well as and the Planning Department acknowledging the home as having 3 bedrooms in 2004.
On 04/04/2016 EHS received the application to replace the septic tank. This application was submitted accurately showing the home as having 3 bedrooms. Then on 04/12/2016, EHS staff altered the application to show the home as having 2-bedrooms instead of 3. EHS then approved that permit with information known to be inaccurate. Gail Mackey confirms this on an 05/25/2021 email when she explains "In 2016, a Tank Only Septic repair permit was submitted for this parcel, showing the SFD as a 3bedroom. As the prior septic permit from 1972 that was paired with a building plan was for a 2-bedroom home, and no septic upgrade permits and building plans for bedroom additions had been submitted since that time, this permit was also processed as a subsidized septic repair permit for an existing 2 bedroom home. That is why the 3 is crossed out and a 2 is written in the bedroom count on the permit page. The permit was submitted for a nun-permittable bedroom count. No floorplan was submitted with this septic repair permit, and there was no way for the EH department to determine what the existing, if unpermitted, bedroom count was at this parcel. The legal bedroom count of this parcel was determined to be 2at the time the 2016 Tank only permit was submitted".
By changing application bedroom EHS singlehandedly caused this conflict, and essentially placed a “financial landmine” at the doorway to any future permits to cross their desk.

EHS cites the unpermitted garage built over the leach field as the reason to rescind the 2016 septic permit and deny any future permit applications regardless of their nature. They do not however, explain why they authorized that septic replacement in the first place considering these alleged code violations. A look at the permit history shows the county has not only been aware of the “unpermitted” garage since it was constructed in 2004, but has authorized upgrades to that garage, a bedroom expansion, deck repairs, the sunroom installation, the 2016 septic replacement, and more.  Permit 140304 issued on 03/23/2005 specifically mentions “No change in room count. Results in 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and living room SFD with decks and attached garage”. 140304-2 issued on 09/21/2005 authorized “redesign of garage foundation including adding 1.5 ft to pony wall”. 
Please remember that the critical infrastructure repairs we are proposing today have NOTHING to do with septic system and are immediately needed to address major health and safety concerns in our home.

The appropriate time to mandate this septic upgrade was in April of 2016, and it almost happened until EHS falsified the permit application thus creating this conflict. Santa Cruz County cannot find the integrity to own its mistakes and allow us to repair our home without replacing our functioning and “permitted” septic system. The cost of this Enhanced Treatment System is greater than our insurance settlement. Our insurance company has made it clear they will not fund the replacement of a “permitted” and functioning septic system which has nothing to do with the nature of the claim. Santa Cruz County is forcing us to use our insurance settlement to replace a “permitted” and functioning septic system, with no consideration for our critical health and safety issues. This is our second winter with a roof that leaks when it rains and a sliding glass door that opens to the broken deck with a 20-foot drop to the hillside below. We have a two-year-old daughter and the thought of her falling off that broken deck scares me every single day. How are we supposed to pay for these essential repairs when the county is holding them ransom for an expensive septic upgrade? An upgrade EHS has had countless opportunities to mandate in the past. EHS is imposing a financial burden from which it will take many years recover. Is this how Santa Cruz County does business?

Not fishing related, but important. If you plan to apply for Santa Cruz building permits, please beware of Santa Cruz County's incompetence.

I (Matt) am a hydrographer with the U.S Geological Survey at the Wrigley Building on Santa Cruz’s West Side. My wife Chelsey is a Registered Nurse at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. We purchased our 3-bedroom 2-bathroom home in Aptos in April of 2016, where we currently reside with our 2-year-old daughter Isla. During escrow, a septic inspection revealed that the septic tank needed to be replaced. Contingent upon our purchase of this home, an agreement was reached with the seller which guaranteed that the seller would replace the septic system legal, up to code, and permitted by Santa Cruz County. The seller agreed and hired a licensed septic construction company to install a brand new “conventional” septic tank. Santa Cruz County Environmental Health department (EHS) authorized and inspected that work and issued the permit. The system is currently functioning normally.

In February of 2020 a large Douglas-fir tree fell onto our home, destroying the outdoor deck and uninsulated modular “sun-room”. We applied for Santa Cruz County permits to repair the deck and to replace the sunroom with solid insulated walls. While reviewing these plans, EHS decided they issued the 2016 permit in error, and are now unwilling to issue ANY permits unless we first agree to replace our 2016 septic tank with an Enhanced Treatment System. This is the same septic system EHS inspected, approved, and permitted in 2016. They are essentially rescinding their previously approved permit, and holding our repairs hostage until we fix their mistakes.  I don't understand how this is legal, or moral. The replacement system will cost over $70K-which is more than my insurance payout to fix my house, and the current system works perfectly.  This is putting my family into a dire financial situation from which we may not be able to recover.

My family is getting screwed over by the county to the tune of $70K (which is more than our insurance adjustment to repair our home).  We are now taking a home equity loan just to replace the (functioning) septic system in order to get the permits to repair our home. Since  February of 2020, we have lived with an active toddler and a shattered and dangerous deck and a leaky moldy dining room because the county is holding our repairs hostage to a retrospective septic upgrade they should have mandated in 2016 when they approved the existing system.   I believe the people of Santa Cruz have a right to know how the county does business.

Excellent John! thank you so much.  We are going to be there 6/28 -7/7 (ish).  It would be cool to have a partner out there.  Ive been driving up and down the area via Google Street View.  Parking looks pretty simple if you get there early, as you said.  Im getting pumped now. This should be good!