September 4, 2005
Archives
BOR Politics Corrupts NAPA PERMIT $COFFLAWS
Mr. Braun,
Below is the e-mail sent to our rather worthless supervisor Ms. Dillon. Ms Dillon is firmly in the pockets of the Sierra Club and is steadfast in her lack of support to the lake communities, perhaps we would do well to focus attention (and e-mails) in her direction.
Rich Stephenson
Berryessa Highlands
Ms. Dillon,
I am curious Ms. Dillon, how long do you intend to remain silent
regarding the illegal activities at Pleasure Cove? Your lack of support to your constituents is very telling and certainly is having a huge adverse effect on your popularity in the communities surrounding the lake. The theft of personal property must stop! The Sierra Club and the BOR clearly control your actions but I remind you, they carry little weight in any future political aspirations that you may have. Ms. Dillon can be reached at... ddillion@co.napa.ca.us
Rich Stephenson, Berryessa Highlands
Thanks for your forwarded email Rich,
It is clear that Supervisors Dillion and her fellow Board members believe that they are "above the law" even when it is a matter of the publics health and safety.
Rich, I think you've hit the nail right on the head with your observation that "The Sierra Club and the BOR clearly control your actions but I remind you, they carry little weight in any future political aspirations that you may have." The CWP encourages all Napa County voters to remember how your local elected representatives have treated their Constituencies and how they have NOT protected the public's health and safety with competant stewartship of our most vital resource... "Clean Water". Sadly, hypocrisy and political corruption are alive and well on the
Best Regards, Oscar
Remember: BOR's deadline date of November 1 for the unlawful removal of personal property owned by private long-term permittees at Pleasure Cove Resort/Marina is now only 59 days away and counting.
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A crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws County ups fines for building without permits, other code violations
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
By JAY GOETTING
Register Staff Writer
Napa County is getting tougher on those who violate zoning and building rules, and the Board of Supervisors is bankrolling the effort to the tune of $200,000.
On Tuesday, the Board unanimously agreed to craft a new law that would increase fines associated with administrative citations.
Such citations are issued when property owners ignore letters from the county warning them that they've crossed the line, but when the situation doesn't reach the threshold of requiring action by the district attorney or county counsel.
Currently, the fines are $100 for a first violation, $200 for the second and $500 thereafter.
The new ordinance would raise those to $500 and $1,000 for the second and third violations, respectively.
Planning and building officials also want to scrap a 30- to 60-day grace period after a violation notice, a rule that allows property owners to submit revised plans without a penalty.
Under new rules, an "inspection fee" would be imposed for twice the permit fee amount, meaning owners would end up paying three times the normal amount.
Mary Radu, a resident of the area south of St. Helena, told the Board hers is an area that often sees blatant disregard for use permit conditions, especially by wineries. She said the county's enforcement effort should be self-supporting and provide incentives for compliance with existing rules and conditions.
Hillary Gitelman, Napa County's director of conservation, development and planning, said most violations involve construction without a building permit.
"We haven't had a hammer," she said, to force compliance prior to the new rules.
Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht suggested going even further and "starting the meter running with the first letter sent," and charging for staff time spent on a violation.
"It's significant if it isn't taken seriously," he said.
Debra Blodgett of Winegrowers of Napa County said her group favors the stronger plan because it would crack down on the county's scofflaws.
Gitelman said in the past two years, the county logged 173 new cases of building code violations, with 108 of those resolved. Forty-six never responded to letters sent by the county.
On the zoning side, 48 cases were opened in 2004, with closure on 29. Since 1990, records show a 60 percent resolution rate. Of the 866 cases officially filed, only five were referred to the district attorney.
Gitelman presented the Board with a map showing the top 10 violators in both zoning and building. They were picked based on the gravity of the violation or its duration.
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From: Oscar Braun [mailto:oscar@oscarknows.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 4:54 PM
To: Hillary E. Gitelman (HGitelman@co.napa.ca.us);
Cc:
Subject: A crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws
August 24, 2005
Dear Supervisor Dillon & Ms. Gitelman,
Bravo for you! It was really wonderful to read about Napa County Board of Supervisors taking a leadership role regarding the crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws. Click here: NapaNews.com | A crackdown on zoning and permit scofflaws As you know, due process and equal treatment under the Napa County zoning and land use ordinances is extremely important for any local government to maintain their credibility and support among law abiding citizens. Sadly, it is a common belief that in
The wealthiest man in the state of Arizona and sole owner of the Forever Resorts empire, multi-billionaire Rex Maughan, has been awarded a 30 month interim concessionaire contract at Pleasure Cove Marina for the exclusive "Rex Maughan price" of one thousand dollars ( $1,000 ). In the attached glossy "Prospectus for Pleasure Cove Marina", Rex humbly claims that his Forever Resorts “walks” it’s environmental “talk”. On behalf of all of us "common folks" at Pleasure Cove Marina that regularly pay close to $6000 a year for our privileged Permittee camping site, we are requesting that Napa County and all State regulatory agencies guide Rex on his long environmental, regulatory zoning and permit compliance "walks". In short, we’d like to be sure that Rex puts a small portion of his BILLION$ where his mouth is….and that should be in the permit fee coffers at Napa County Environmental Management & Health Services. Why should Rex be spared the process that the rest of us politically challenged folks are required to lawfully abide by ?
Attached please find a summary of some of the current permitting issues pertaining to Rex’s Pleasure Cove Marina. Below, please note a citation from the CWP due diligence review regarding
Regards, Oscar Braun, Executive Director, C.W.Posse