ROSSMOOR : Maintenance of Wall Still Under Debate

Nine months after a 100-foot section of the perimeter wall around the community collapsed during an earthquake, public agencies are still debating who should be responsible for its repair and maintenance.

In the latest round of the long-running legal tussle, the Rossmoor Community Services District, through its legal counsel, William W. Wynder, told the Orange County Board of Supervisors that the district is not responsible for the upkeep of the wall.

Wynder said in a Feb. 18 letter to board Chairman Harriett M. Wieder that the repair and maintenance of the wall were not among the specific duties of the Community Services District when it was created in 1986.

In addition, Wynder said, the district does not have the funds to maintain the wall.

The Community Services District board reiterated that position during its meeting last week. Members of the board, however, expressed concern that the wall has become dangerous and something has to be done.

Kathleen Campini, an executive assistant to Wieder, said that the county’s Environmental Management Agency is reviewing the issues raised by the Community Services District and may issue a decision next week.

Campini said the county agency has met with some members of the Community Services District board and with officers of the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn. and has inspected the wall.

“We feel we have good communication with the homeowners and the community district board,” Campini said.

Margrit Kendrick, president of the Community Services District board, said that the wall, built about 35 years ago, has also weakened in several sections as a result of an earthquake last June.

The 100-foot section that toppled down is southwest of the intersection of Seal Beach Boulevard and St. Cloud Drive, near the county flood control channel.

“It’s still down,” Kendrick said. “Nothing has been done since June.”

Kendrick said the responsibility for the wall’s repair and maintenance has become complicated because certain sections of the wall are within the jurisdiction of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach.

“It’s not easy to tell who is responsible,” she said.

Wynder agreed with Kendrick. In a memorandum to the Community Services District board, he said that “it is unclear who is ultimately responsible.”

Wynder said that Los Alamitos and Seal Beach could be responsible for those sections within their jurisdiction. The county may also have an obligation, and property owners could be responsible for those sections of the wall within their property lines.

Wynder said what is clear is that the Community Services District is not responsible. The county resolution that created the district only requires it to maintain landscaping, trim parkway trees and be responsible for street sweeping, he said.

However, the Community Services District may assume responsibility for the wall if Rossmoor voters agree to it in a referendum, according to Kendrick.