Full House Urges MAC to Deny New Home Construction

Not one person had anything good to say about a stalled plan to build a new home off Mikemary Court. Not even the applicant. She wasn't there.

But more than 25 people filled the Municipal Advisory Council meeting room Monday night to register their protests against the project.

"I can't see a single reason to move this forward," said council member Dave Sadoff, before the council unanimously voted to deny the proposal.

Mud, rocks and sewage

In the open comments portion of the meeting, four neighbors on Mikemary Court, Cambrian Drive and Irma Way spoke of mud, rocks and potentially sewage running down an unstable slope into neighbors' back yards and even living rooms.

They cited engineering reports about drainage and grading problems, and noted that certain reports hadn't been done. Nor does the proposal conform to other county standards, including height restrictions, according to staff reports.

Susan Groark, who lives next door, recalled a specific day in 1982 that was like last week's severe weather and accompanying mudslides in Castro Valley.

"The rain pelted down and some of that hill where she wants to put her own slid down the hill into the living room of one of the houses on Cambrian way,” Groark said.

Residents also described the applicant, Teresa Nazareth, as unpredictable and standoff-ish.

Neighbor Warren Vinzant gave the board a history of negotiations with her beginning in 2002, saying "she reneged" and “created a massively different plan” and “all the agreements went out the window.”

Other neighbors said she made no attempt to communicate with them. 

Before making a motion to deny the proposal, council member Sadoff asked the audience, “Are you aware of her reaching out in any way to any of the neighbors?”

The room was silent. No one raised a hand.

The staff report included minutes from a Nov. 14, 2005, meeting at which 10 residents spoke against the proposal. Two of Nazareth's grown sons were listed among the speakers that evening.

Homes in the area were built in the 1950s, and even at the time had been scaled back because the builder was surprised to find portions of the land unbuildable, according to statements in the staff reports.

The parcel in question was split in 2002, with home construction OK'd with stipulations.