End in sight for Bluebird families

The end of the city’s restoration of Bluebird Canyon is in sight, just a little later, somewhat different, and more expensive than previous estimates.

Recovery Coordinator Bob Burnham’s revised estimates of time and money were approved Tuesday by the council, along with a final grading plan, modified to respond to property owners’ concerns about views that were lost between the concept and final proposals.

“We thought it was all resolved,” said property owner Greg Tonkovich. “But come July 6, Bob dropped off a note saying, ‘Oh, we have 32 more cubic yards of dirt, and we are dropping it in your view.’

“This is not fair.”

Line of sight analyses showed that even before the modifications to the proposed final grading plan approved by the council Tuesday, Tonkovich would have more ocean view than he did before the slide.

That wasn’t the point, Didrickson Way resident Bob Earl said.

“We were told the concept plan wouldn’t change,” Earl said. “I couldn’t believe the final plan.”

Property owners also expressed concerns about a flat area on a large, previously vacant parcel, fearing development would encroach on their views.

The lot was used with the consent of the owner as a dumping ground for dirt that otherwise would have had to be exported from the site, which saved the city money.

Attorney Gene Gratz, who was consulted by Didrickson Way residents, said they wanted the grading plan presented to the Design Review Board for consideration of the view issues, which would have delayed completion of the grading perhaps another two months beyond the new estimated completion date of Sept. 19.

“We don’t recommend going back to design review,” City Manager Ken Frank said. “The people who are recommending waiting — they are living in their homes.”

Frank knows from personal experience what it is like to be displaced by a disaster — he lost his home in the 1993 firestorm.

The modifications to the final grading plan approved by the council will probably add another $50,000 to the final costs of the restoration.

“But it will make people feel better,” Burnham said.

The total cost is now projected at $32,497,500 — excluding costs not to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We are hoping that won’t be too much, but we should know in a couple of months,” Frank said.

City involvement in the restoration of the hillside and Flamingo Road was prompted by the threat to public safety due to damages to the city’s infrastructure, according to Burnham.

“Flamingo Road is the emergency access for 1,000 residents if Bluebird Canyon Drive is blocked by fire mudslides or flooding,” Burnham said.

The city’s restoration does not include grading pads for private property owners, none of whom had landslide insurance, which is virtually unavailable.

Displaced families have spent more than two years waiting for the day they can start rebuilding.

“We are almost at the finish line,” Diane Stevens said Tuesday. “Even though there were some disagreements here tonight, I hope we can work it out in a timely manner.

“I want to move on with my life. My daughter was in the ninth grade when [the slide] happened. She will not move back in. She will be off to college by the time our home is completed.

“I hope we can figure a way to make everyone happy.”

Certainly the council tried to make property owner Tim Saunders happier.

Saunders, who lost his home in the slide, also lost a gorgeous view in the grading. His lot is now five feet lower.

Architect Ernest Stuart asked the council to approve extending the building envelope to recapture some of the view.

“We have to work with [him] and give him some additional envelope as long as it doesn’t impact his uphill neighbor,” Councilwoman Elizabeth Schneider said.

Acting on Burnham’s recommendations, the council also authorized the city manager to execute amendments to the slope repair agreements with Flamingo Road property owners.

It included requiring the city to implement erosion control and permanent slope protection planting for the 2007-08 rainy season and verified planning and construction fee waivers for three years from completion of the restoration.

Burnham received a round of applause from the council and the audience for his contributions to the community, and particularly the victims of the slide, for the past 26 months.

The retired Newport Beach city attorney, a Bluebird Canyon resident, was tapped for the job of community relations coordinator by Frank and had no idea of the magnitude of the task he faced.

“My wife has told my dog to bite me if I ever volunteer for anything like this again,” Burnham said.