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Friday, February 10, 2012
City seeks completion of partially build homes in flood zone
by Kathleen Haley, published on December 18, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Storyline: Sacramento City Hall / Politics
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The city of Sacramento has admitted to federal regulators that its development department bypassed federal rules by greenlighting 35 building permits in a Natomas flood zone this year. At the same time, the city is asking the federal government if 25 of the homes can be completed.
A third-party law firm, Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai, and City Attorney Eileen Teichert's office are investigating the issue. The city has placed Bill Thomas, community development director, and department staffer Dan Waters on leave.
Teichert said Friday she did not know when the investigation would be completed.
In a Dec. 15 letter to Cynthia McKenzie, senior flood planner at the Federal Emergency Management Agency office in Oakland, the Sacramento city attorney’s office sought permission forK. Hovnanian Homes to finish building the 25 homes in the Natomas area. Ten of the 35 homes in the flood zone have been completed, but the remaining 25 are in various stages of construction, according to the letter.
Teichert explained the city’s position Friday in a phone interview.
It would be “consistent with the law” to build the 25 homes, Teichert said. Among other reasons, she said, the 25 homes should be built to maintain public health and safety.
“We also are of the opinion that having homes half-constructed in a neighborhood is not a positive thing,” Teichert said. “It’s certainly not for the neighbors.”
In making its case for the 25 homes, the city cited the actions it has taken to respond to the issue. “However, staff’s diligence caused the transferred permits to be discovered and immediately brought forward to FEMA in order to address and resolve any FEMA concerns before more homes under those units were built, sold, and insured.”
The letter noted that about 24 witnesses have been interviewed for the investigation.
Teichert said the city is not expecting a reply from FEMA before Dec. 25.
Read the Dec. 15 letter from Teichert’s office here.
Photo by David Watts Barton
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem, but the last thing you should do when trying to quit a bad behavior is continue to indulge!
And someday, we'll see just the tip of the rooftops.
"I am very frustrated and very angry with both the Corps and FEMA," Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo said at a press conference. "There is not a city in California more prepared (for floods) than Sacramento."
http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2008/01/14/daily23.html
Post Katrina and she wants to still build houses on a flood plain. Why she's not in jail is beyond me.
Natomas would still be pristine if only St. Heather of the Valley and her Maid Marion had their way.
There were many people at the time advocating for NO development in the Natomas Basin. I don't know if Heather was one or not.
Hey genius...they couldn't have built on that "agland" if the scumbags in city hall didn't rezone the land for them... doh
Whomever was involved should be terminated, regardless of their party affiliations...this unfortunately will not happen.
One look at the Board of the Sac Tree Foundation tells the entire story behind the quid pro quo scam they've had going for many years. The Board is made up of the Greek Mob and almost every other major developer and those that make money off of development. These developers funnel money to Fargo and Tretheway and their campaigns. In return..they got a green light on anything they wanted in Natomas.
Fargo and Tretheway went so far as to push Matsui to fight the Army Corps who wanted to halt development in Natomas...Eventually, they even SUED the Army Corps...
And it gets even better... Fargo and Tretheway are spearheading the effort to annex more land into the City in the flood zones...From North Natomas..all the way up to the Sutter County line. They are going to build a donut of crappy stucco tract houses and strip malls around the airport. Take a guess who now either owns outright or all the options to develop? The Tsakopoulos mob...
What the best part of all of this is...they are in your face blatant about their corruption. They are giving environmentalists and the rest of our community the BIG FINGER.
And there is NOTHING you can do about it...so go back to your TV show.
Some commentators on this page would be wise to listen to the words of 1 Republican that everyone I know cherish's- Abe Lincoln-
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"
Before speaking about crooks and Natomas, a little background information works wonders.
Try Three segments within the 2006-2007 Final Report of the Sacramento County Grand Jury
http://www.sacgrandjury.org/reports/06-07/06-07GrandJuryReport.pdf
North Natomas: Development gone awry-Pg. 19
Flood Risk In Sacramento County Pg. 41
and quite possibly a common thread that bonds it all together
The Kings and City and County of Sacramento: Betrayal in the Kingdom Pg.65
Now we're going back to pre Heather & Ray days...What were the names of those King's shareholders, do you even remember who was on CC or how they voted, and who was buying up prime AG land?
Merry Christmas
According to you, Fargo and Trethway had the ability to stop the Billions in permit valuation that were issued with the settlement of that lawsuit.
I Remember driving to the airport to take a 1 week trip and coming back the following week to see new lots developed, over & over again. Try doing some legitimate research-Check the "city's" archives for permits issued during that time-talk about a tsunami. I don't condone what happened in Natomas- at all. Let's just be sure to have all the facts before making assertions!
Like you, all your aliases & a lot of other Sacramentans, I have more than a basketball for a cranium.