County Halts Grading of Tract in Agoura

Agoura landowner Tom Randa, who is being sued by the state for grading his land without a coastal permit, has been cited by Los Angeles County for a similar infraction.

The county last week issued a stop-work order requiring Randa to get a county grading permit before he resumes earth-moving work on his mountain property southwest of Malibu Lake.

County officials said Tuesday that recent grading on the five-acre tract, which abuts state and federal parkland, was more extensive than allowed under a building permit issued for construction of a home.

Douglas Browne, a building and safety supervisor with the county Department of Public Works, said he told Randa Tuesday that he will have to submit grading plans and a report on soil stability before a grading permit can be issued.

Owner Agrees to Comply

Randa agreed to comply with the order and said he had misunderstood the permit requirements, Browne said.

Randa, 40, a contractor and part-time actor, could not be reached for comment. But his wife, Patricia Randa, said Tuesday, “We’ll comply with anything the county needs. We’ve tried to do everything the way the county would require.”

Browne said the order halting grading will not stop construction of the home itself.

In 1980, the Randas began grading their land without a permit from the California Coastal Commission and then defied a commission order to stop the work. The Randas contended the commission had no jurisdiction because their land was almost five miles from the sea--further inland, they said, than the state coastal zone boundary was originally supposed to have extended.

Shortly afterward, the state filed a lawsuit against the Randas that is pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

On Jan. 7, the Randas persuaded the coastal commission to grant a minor boundary adjustment that put their tract just outside the coastal boundary and beyond commission jurisdiction. The National Park Service, which owns neighboring land, and conservationists had urged the commission not to relinquish its power to place conditions on development of the land.

Several commissioners later said they thought the boundary adjustment had been sought to speed the sale of the tract to federal or state parks agencies that have expressed interest in it.

Two days after the commission vote, however, the county issued a building permit, and the Randas began grading to prepare for building a house.

A county inspector issued the stop-work order on Jan. 21 after a visit to the site revealed extensive grading.