This letter is addressed to Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority Project Analyst Mario Sandoval.
I want these concerns dealt with and analyzed in the draft EIR to Aspen Group, and please confirm you have received and read my concerns—I am requesting received and read receipts via email.
I am the owner of the office building at 24955 PCH, downhill from the Puerco Canyon, Cameron Ranch site, and have the following concerns:
1. Land Use
It is my understanding that the MRCA also controls substantial acreage in nearby Latigo Canyon. With highly restricted traffic and emergency access to the Cameron Ranch site, wouldn’t it first make sense to master plan both areas? For instance, you may conclude that any overnight camping would be more logical in Latigo, which has increased emergency and traffic access. There may also be less infrastructure impacts, i.e., water, septic, etc.
Also, what is being planned for site C and what further impacts will result from development in this area?
2. Liability
With the increasing prospect of less rainfall and drier landscapes, this is a recipe for fire. If a fire were to originate on the Cameron Ranch property and spread throughout adjacent properties, will MRCA or the state be responsible for a lost or damaged property, including lost rental income, increased insurance premiums and costs of processing new permits in the case of commercially developed property? In other words, what legal and financial recourse do affected property owners have to the MRCA?
3. Geology
If development occurs on areas of filled soil, where pig farming took place, is this adequate to receive septic system effluent without impacting surrounding environmentally-protected areas?
4. Service systems
Will LA County Waterworks District 29 be able to provide water to this development?
Ron Goldman
Fellow, American Institute of Architects