Mud, Debris Threaten Lake Lindero Anew

Agoura Hills residents, who spent $471,000 last year to drain and clean Lake Lindero of silt, say the lake has been inundated with tons of new mud and debris.

“At the rate we’re going, the lake will be filled up again even before we pay off our loan,” said Kurt Moore, head of the lake maintenance committee of the Lake Lindero Homeowners Assn.

Blaming the problem on nearby construction projects that are allegedly causing erosion, the lakeside residents are demanding that the city tighten controls over developers.

But officials are balking at complying--partly because of concerns over a multimillion-dollar homeowners lawsuit that blames the city and nearly two dozen other agencies and companies for earlier damage to Lake Lindero.

To soften that resistance, homeowners have offered to drop Agoura Hills from the $3.5-million suit if the city clamps down on builders’ grading practices.

Homeowners in the 1,000-house Lake Lindero subdivision have been concerned about erosion since the early 1980s when a series of winter storms clogged their 21-year-old lake with silt from upstream construction projects.

By 1983, the 13 1/2-acre lake was all but filled by mud. Dirt “islands” appeared in some places where water had previously been 8 feet deep.

The homeowners association, which owns the lake, drained it and took out a loan to pay to have it bulldozed clean. It levied a special 10-year assessment on members to cover loan and interest costs, which will total about $1 million.

But damage from new erosion this year was so bad that some experts now feel the lake will refill with mud in six to eight years, homeowners contend.

Two weeks ago, Moore and lake manager Ronald Scheuble appealed to the Agoura Hills City Council for new grading regulations and better city inspection “to protect us from soil erosion.”

Scheuble told the council that erosion from an industrial site south of Lake Lindero came when a slope failed, catch basins filled and rainwater rushed into culverts that empty into the lake.

He said water from a residential construction site north of the lake was “funneled” toward the lake because the developer placed sandbags in the wrong place.

Moore is holding out hopes of ending legal action against the city.

“If ever there was a group of people who don’t want to go to war with Agoura Hills, we’re that group of people,” Moore said.

Citing the lawsuit, which was filed in 1984 and faces its first court hearing on June 12, council members declined to immediately respond to the pair. They promised, however, that city staff members will investigate homeowners’ complaints.

This week, City Engineer Hank Van Dyke said he has not pursued the matter. He said he feels comfortable with present procedures.

“I don’t think our problems are in the rules and regulations,” Van Dyke said. “I think that, anytime you deal with construction projects of that size, there are human errors that come about through no one’s intention. They just happen.

“It’s not possible to hold all water on property in a storm. You do the best you can with temporary desilting basins and sandbags. We can’t prevent everything.”

Moore expressed surprise when told of Van Dyke’s view. He said the city should not be surprised when the lawsuit is pursued, however.

“We’re going after the guilty parties, whoever they may be,” he said.