IRVINE : Council OKs Razing of Castle-Like Home

Two council members tried unsuccessfully to persuade their colleagues to save the castle-like home of Haym and Fern Ganish from demolition during a closed-door meeting Wednesday night.

But even council members who voted to proceed with demolition of the unfinished house, because of health and safety code violations, say it still could be saved.

“If somebody wants to come in and buy the house and bring it up to code, fine. We’ll work with them,” said Mayor Michael Ward. “But meanwhile, our hands are tied. We’re enforcing state law.”

The Ganishes have been battling with city officials for 13 years over the start-and-stop remodeling of their Kron Street home into a stone-covered castle. The Ganishes failed to meet a court-imposed deadline for submission of plans in December, giving the city legal authority to demolish the house.

City officials say they will soon give notice to the Ganishes to vacate their home.

Council members Greg Smith and Christina L. Shea proposed removing the Ganishes from their home and fencing off the property while trying to reach an agreement with the mortgage holder to bring the house up to code. But their proposal was rejected.

Shea said she was called by an Irvine resident on Thursday who expressed an interest in buying the house. And the council sent a letter to the mortgage holder, hoping it might act to save the house from demolition.

“The court did not dictate that we need to go into demolition,” Shea said. “To me, it seems like an extreme option.”