Supervisors Tackle Illegal Land Grading : Environment: Fears of landslides, other land-use problems prompt board approval of fines and other civil-court penalties.

Frustrated that developers have continued to secretly grade sensitive open space in the south Orange County foothills during the past several years, county supervisors moved Tuesday to halt the illegal practice with tougher court penalties.

The action was spurred by Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who said the incidents have left properties vulnerable to “dangerous land movements.”

“This has become a serious problem. It is a destructive action,” Vasquez said of the illegal clearings that are often performed on weekends, away from public view and reported to authorities only by upset neighbors.

In the worst cases, county officials said, the property clearings can seriously alter hillside drainage routes, threatening properties with possible landslides.

“When you cut into the side of a hill and dump the excess dirt over the other side, it might look fine when it’s finished,” said Patrick J. Stanton, the county’s manager of development services. “But when it rains, that dirt might be moving on top of a neighbor.”

The reforms approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors included a schedule of fines and other civil-court penalties to go with existing criminal misdemeanor punishments for violators.

The new penalties allow the county to collect up to $250 in fines for each day the property owner violates grading regulations or is clearing sensitive hillside property without a grading permit.

County officials now may also obtain restraining orders to halt ongoing grading projects not in compliance with county regulations, and warrants will be issued to inspectors to gain access to areas under development.

Officials said that warrants are needed because “some landowners have refused permission to enter their property to review the grading, effectively stopping the enforcement process in some cases.”

Recently, the county’s Environmental Management Agency assigned two inspectors to handle grading violations. It is hoped, officials said, that the increased enforcement would either deter the practice or speed compliance.

Eighteen grading violations are pending with the agency, including property owners Robert Schuller Ministries and the Santa Margarita Co.

Stanton said the Schuller violation involves storing 20,000 yards of dirt on the ministry’s property in San Juan Capistrano. The ministry reportedly allowed a local contractor to place the dirt there while the contractor worked on an adjacent flood control channel.

The Santa Margarita Co. was cited for placing too much fill material in San Juan Creek in constructing a bridge over the creek.

In both cases, Stanton said, the owners are working toward compliance with county regulations, and neither case will be referred for further action by the district attorney.

Of the 18 pending cases, only one has been referred to the district attorney’s office. It involves the grading of property owned by Lawrence Properties in Modjeska Canyon.

Stanton said the land, which is just off Santiago Canyon Road, is made available for wedding receptions and other events. “Most people don’t realize they are involved in a grading-code violation until it’s done,” Stanton said.