Saratoga News

Contractors jump the gun again

By Sarah Lombardo

Observant neighbors brought work at a housing subdivision on Franklin Avenue to a stop April 29 after contractors jumped the gun. The six-home project was red-flagged and work stopped after city officials discovered contractors had begun work before permits had been issued.

"They certainly did get ahead of themselves on that," Saratoga Community Development Director James Walgren said. Permits for the project, on property owned by Slobodan Galeb, were later issued on May 1.

According to Walgren, officials for the project said they were simply preparing the property for foundations. But technically, Walgren added, no work should have begun at all.

The incident marks the second time in a year the project has come under scrutiny. In September 1997, design review approval for five homes in the project was postponed until November after neighbors complained that contractors were performing illegal grading of the subdivision.

In that incident, Walgren said, crews had graded the property before the Planning Commission approved the grading parameters. Applicants Galeb and William Ivancovich were fined $1,500 in the incident, Walgren said. The applicants also had to pay $500 per house in permit fees.

"This latest incident seems to be a little less severe than that incident," Walgren said.

But neighbors are just as upset, saying that the city is not paying enough attention to the project to make sure it complies with Planning Commission conditions.

"Had nobody caught them, it would have slipped through," one neighbor said.

The homes are part of the Boisseranc subdivision, approved by the commission in September 1996. Four more homes next to the six-home project were recently approved by the Planning Commission.

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