One Ford Road homes to get retooling

Paul Clinton

ONE FORD ROAD -- The exclusive homes here will be getting a little

more work after all.

Developers of the One Ford Road development in Newport Beach on

Thursday informed city building officials that they would fix any code

violations stemming from railings that had been insufficiently attached

to the porches of the four homes that have had noticeable problems.

The city has been withholding final approval on the houses, just a few

of the Pacific Bay Properties’ nearly 500 homes, because of the problem.

“The developer is working to correct it,” said the city’s building

director, Jay Elbettar.

There are an additional 120 homes that have already been sold that

also could be affected. In the coming weeks, city inspectors will walk

through the complex to determine which of those need fixing.

If there is more than a 30-degree difference between the slope of the

porch and the ground, work will need to be done.

The city also is considering a ban on poplar, the material used to

build railings on the patios. The wood has deteriorated on at least one

of the homes, partly due to the moist ocean air.

The developer will add a steel bracket to connect the poplar posts

with the four homes’ concrete patios, as they had promised when the

project was approved, Pacific Bay attorney Julia Bergstrom said.

“It’s a minor fix,” Bergstrom said. “We don’t anticipate it will cause

any delays.”

The problem with the homes came to light at a City Council meeting in

June when One Ford Road resident Cordell Fisher went before the council

armed with 100 signatures. He asked the council to revisit the building

code and take poplar wood off the list of materials acceptable for such

rails to ensure no one gets injured as a result of such decay.

Pacific Bay initially had resisted making the changes. Most recently,

the developer even submitted a package of documents hoping to satisfy the

city’s building department. The city sent a letter to the developer

earlier this month giving the developer 14 days to fix the problem.

The work is not coming too soon for Fisher, who said he spent $10,000

after his home was given “red flag” status by the city.

“They submitted plans to the city of Newport Beach and didn’t follow

the plans,” Fisher said of the developer.

Construction began on Pacific Bay Homes in 1997 and is expected to be

completed by December.

* Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .