Who’ll Put Wall Together Again? : Government: Nobody wants to assume responsibility for earthquake-damaged wall around Rossmoor community.

When a 100-foot section of brick wall around this community crumbled during an earthquake last summer, it tumbled into a political no-man’s-land.

The key question is: Who owns the wall?

Nobody, it seems.

Neither the county nor the Rossmoor Community Services District will claim responsibility for the wall surrounding this unincorporated community of about 10,000. Officials in neighboring Los Alamitos and Seal Beach say they are not sure whether portions of the wall bordering their cities are within their jurisdiction. They are hesitant to pay for any repairs.

In a survey among the 3,500 Rossmoor homeowners last October, 96% of the more than 750 who responded agreed that the wall is an asset to their community, but nearly half said they did not want to spend money for its repair.

Milt Petersen, a member of the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn. board, said that while public agencies pass the buck, about 500 feet of earthquake-damaged wall is in danger of toppling, in addition to the 100 feet that has already fallen.

In what he describes as a “quixotic quest,” Petersen has been urging county officials and the Community Services District, which oversees operations in Rossmoor, to repair the wall before an accident happens.

“Youngsters can accidentally, or devilishly, shake the wall and make it fall down on themselves or their playmates,” Petersen said. “That’s our immediate concern. We consider that wall a hazard.”

Petersen said the wall is tilting outward about a foot at one damaged end on Seal Beach Boulevard.

“I can shake it with one hand,” he said. “I can actually tear the wall down. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Shirley A. Bailey, president of the homeowners’ association, said her group had raised the issue first with the Community Services District and later with the county.

“For a while, nobody wanted to talk to us,” she said. “They hoped this problem would just go away.”

The damaged portion of the wall is located on Seal Beach Boulevard southwest of the St. Cloud Street intersection. A temporary nylon fence has been installed by the owner of the property closest to the fallen portion, Petersen said.

To repair the wall with cement block and a facade to match the existing brick would cost an estimated $16,500, Petersen said. The county has offered to repair it for $10,000 but has required the Community Services District to reimburse the cost. The district has declined.

Gustave Brickman, former president of the Community Services District Board of Directors, said the property outside the damaged wall belongs to Seal Beach. The property inside the wall belongs to a Rossmoor resident.

However, the damaged wall is also in an area close to a flood control channel that the county owns. Other sections of the wall run along private properties and public rights of way in Rossmoor, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach.

The wall was erected around the Rossmoor tract in 1959 by developer Ross Cortese. The tract was the first walled subdivision in Southern California and at the time was called the Walled City.

Subdivision plans, however, did not specify who owned the wall, said Bill Sheldon, general manager of the Community Services District.

“That’s one of the reasons why there is confusion,” he said.

Los Alamitos City Manager Robert C. Dunek said sections of the wall on Katella Avenue, Los Alamitos Boulevard and along the San Diego Freeway may be in Los Alamitos’ jurisdiction.

“But we need additional surveys,” Dunek said. “We want to take a closer look, determine which sections are in the city’s jurisdiction and what our obligations are. Then we have to determine if we have the financial ability to maintain the wall.”

Dunek said that policy on the wall will be up to the City Council. So far, he said, he is not aware of a formal request from either the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn. or the Community Services District asking for help in restoring the wall.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder said in a letter to Brickman in December that the Community Services District “inherited” the responsibility for the wall when the Rossmoor Maintenance District annexed the Rossmoor tract two years after the district was formed in 1957.

The Rossmoor Maintenance District became County Service Area No. 21 in 1974. In 1987, it became the Rossmoor Community Services District.

“Based on subsequent successions, it appears clear that the Rossmoor Community Services District has inherited the responsibility for the maintenance of the community wall,” Wieder said.

However, the district board, in a meeting last week, rejected Wieder’s claim and directed William Wynder, the district’s legal counsel, to inform the county of the district’s position.

The board, composed of five members elected by the voters, is responsible for carrying out such district operations as street sweeping and lighting, trimming of parkway trees and maintenance of recreation facilities.

Maintaining the community wall is not a district function, the board said, and that is why the district cannot allocate money to repair it.

“One day that wall is going to come down,” said Director Jim Alexander. “We have to inform the county that we are not responsible.”

Director Joyce Bloom suggested that residents petition for a ballot initiative if they want to assume the costs of maintaining the wall. Petersen and Bailey said the homeowners would probably do that if no public agency will assume responsibility.

“I think it’s an option that they will consider,” Bailey said. “It will only be pennies to the homeowners if we spread the cost around, especially with a brick facade and a cement interior.

“First and foremost, however, is to determine who owns the wall,” Bailey said.

“There is a deep sense of community here--and the wall has helped foster that sense,” said Petersen, a resident for more than 30 years.