Builder Is Accused by State of Shoddy Job
State officials have filed administrative charges accusing a contractor of slipshod workmanship at an Agoura Hills condominium project plagued by cracked walls and a collapsed slope.
The complaint by the Contractors’ State License Board accuses Vikron Inc. of Agoura Hills of failing to stick to approved plans and specifications in construction of the 72-unit Lake View Villas condominiums and of violating two sections of the Los Angeles County building code.
If the allegations in the April 22 complaint are sustained, Vikron could lose its license and be ordered to pay restitution to homeowners or their association, according to Robert Porter, assistant regional deputy for the contractors’ board.
Lake Was Drained
The 3-year-old complex, built for $4 million, last year suffered cracked walls and sidewalks and the collapse of a 100-yard-long slope at the front steps of its most expensive town homes. A lake designed as the centerpiece of the project was emptied after a private soils expert said leaks in its concrete bottom might be causing the slope failure.
Vikron, which has built Braemar Homes developments in the area, was general contractor for the Agoura Hills project, built on 3.5 acres owned by Templeland Ltd., a Japanese investment company.
The homeowners have been caught in a dispute between Templeland and Vikron, who are suing each other over who should finance the repairs.
The state’s complaint alleges that Vikron failed to follow approved plans for grading and departed from accepted trade standards by failing to provide adequate drainage or landscaping for the complex.
It also accuses Vikron of failing to install concrete curbs and to connect roof drains to drain pipes, and of neglecting to install irrigation systems at the bottom of slopes and berms at the tops of slopes.
“Because of these deviations from plans, specifications and trade standards, the owners will be required to spend a substantial sum over the contract price to correct the problems,” the complaint says.
In an interview Monday, Lewis Robert Maler, managing officer of Vikron, acknowledged the slope failure and other problems but said repairs are Templeland’s responsibility.
“We have done several thousand homes and we’ve never had this problem before. Our position is that we did all the inspections required to complete the project and get the county to approve it for occupancy,” Maler said. “Unfortunately, we are not the owners of the property. We were acting not as the developer but as the general contractors.”
An administrative law judge will hold a hearing on the allegations, but it has not yet been scheduled.
Settled With Association
In February, Templeland reached a settlement with the Lake View Villas Homeowners Assn. under which the company gave the association $30,000 for the repair of the lake. The company also agreed to pay $100,000 later to fix assorted problems, association president Bill Bush said.
Maler said Vikron has provided labor and materials to repaint and re-stucco homes in the complex.
Templeland last fall filed a $10-million lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Vikron was responsible for shoddy workmanship and should pay the costs of repairs. Vikron denied the charges and filed a countersuit.
Last August, the state Department of Real Estate revoked the subdivision’s public report, which real estate agents are required to provide to prospective home buyers. Until the report is restored, Templeland cannot sell 17 unoccupied units at the complex.
