Photograph by George Sakkestad
Josine Ekelenboom Smits says erosion of this creek bed on her property has accelerated because of increased runoff from construction above her home on Shannon Road.
By Clarence Cromwell
Josine Ekelenboom Smits doesn't mind if Jamshidi family builds its spacious home on Top of the Hill Road land that overlooks her property. She wishes, however, that the Jamshidis would turn down the torrent of water rushing down the hill and degrading her land, she said.
Jamshidi's architect and hydrologist maintain that the runoff is normal and not all of it comes from the Jamshidi property.
Nevertheless, Eikelenboom Smits and her husband, Dirk Smits, appealed the Planning Commission's approval of the Jamshidi house, asking the council for stronger measures that will limit the Jamshidis' runoff.
The Town Council scheduled Paris Jamshidi's building application for Sept. 16. The town engineer should have time by then to clear up whether the disputed erosion to Eikelenboom Smits' land is serious and how much of it resulted from water flowing off the Jamshidis' ridge.
Dirk and Josine Smits complained to the Planning Commission that they believe the 1.8 acres of paved pathways on the Jamshidi property nearly doubled the runoff of water from the Jamshidis' 16-acre ridge-top estate.
Josine Eikelenboom Smits blames the runoff for landslides on their property, the collapse of a private road and heavier-than-before erosion in a pair of streambeds on the property.Eikelenboom Smits said she thinks the extensive network of pathways on the Jamshidis' property not only stops water from soaking into the ground, but also happens to channel it downhill to a place near the top of the Smits' property.
The erosion threatens original-growth oak groves and the rest of the property with landslides, Eikelenboom Smits said. The increased flow is degrading two channels, totaling 2,300 feet, that drain the area, she said. A handful of landslides collapsed the banks of the creek.
Although the Smits asked Los Gatos to force a better drainage plan on the Jamshidis, the Planning Commission approved the Jamshidis' project, including the drainage system. The system would have limited flow during heavy storms by storing some rainwater in catch basins for release later.
The Smits hired their own hydrologist to help fight Town Hall.
Hydrologist Larry Fishbain concluded that the grading and paving on the Jamshidi property made for more frequent runoff and greater quantities of runoff onto the Smits' land. He said the runoff will erode the Smits' stream channels and slopes--even with the storage tanks--maybe causing both to collapse and increasing the hazard of a flood.
Fishbain said repairs should be required for the damage already done to the Smits' property.
Fishbain said the Smits have seen most of the increase in runoff that will occur due to construction on the Jamshidi property. He suspects the erosion could continue and that new channels may even form on the land.
Civil Engineer William Heiss, the Jamshidis' hydrologist, countered that most of the increase in runoff the Smits noticed was due to the contrast of a few dry years, followed by two extremely wet winters. He was unsure when the Jamshidis paved the pathways.
Heiss said other properties send water down onto the Smits' land.
He conceded that the paving will increase runoff from the Jamshidi property, but said most of the runoff would happen naturally because the area is steep.
"It adds to the problem, definitely. What the debate is, is 'How much did it add to the problem?' "
Maurice Camargo, the Jamshidis' architect, accused the Smits of simply trying to delay construction of the Jamshidi house. He said the Smits didn't mention drainage problems previously, when they complained about the proposed placement of the house and about the need to screen out a pair of unsightly water tanks near their property line.
He added that the Jamshidis said they're willing to construct drainage facilities for the property to whatever specifications the town decides are appropriate.
The Smits have said they don't object to the current plans for the house, but want the drainage problem solved.
Eikelenboom Smits said the dispute shows that the town needs a policy to regulate drainage of hillside properties.
"This I think is a big hole in the hillside development policy," she said. "If every homeowner in the hills has to do this kind of thing, I think it points to [the need for] some kind of oversight. Before we talked about it, it seemed that no one had really thought about it."
The Smits' hydrologist, Fishbain, said runoff policies are lacking nearly everyplace where water runs downhill.
"The town does not require an environmental review of any kind, and I think that's an error on the town's part," Fishbain said. "The more you build up the hills, the more these issues become serious."
Fishbain proposed that single houses planned in environmentally sensitive areas should no longer be exempt from environmental review. Builders should study hydrology of hillside sites before undertaking any work, he said.
Paris Jamshidi was unavailable for comment at press time.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 31, 1996.
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