City Apologizes for Not Halting Hillside Work

Admitting that they goofed by letting a Pacific Palisades man spend months bulldozing a hill next to one of Los Angeles’ most scenic parks, city officials ordered a halt to work Tuesday until neighbors can help geologists figure out how to repair the mess.

Winston Salser, a prominent UCLA biology professor, was chided by members of the Building and Safety Commission for denuding a steep slope above Rustic Canyon and thumbing his nose at neighbors. He was also accused of moving hundreds of tons of dirt without a permit.

A parade of residents in the pricey neighborhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean complained to commissioners that Salser’s earthmoving seven days a week--which continued until 8:30 p.m. Monday--has spilled into Topanga State Park and Rustic Canyon Creek.

They charged that portions of the bulldozed hillside have washed away in recent rains, threatening to dam the creek and possibly send a 10-foot wall of water cascading onto homes downstream.

Building officials ordered Salser to immediately stabilize the slope, located in the 1500 block of Casale Road. And they expressed regret to Salser’s neighbors for failing to halt the work despite the department’s issuance of a stop work order in September.

Confusion within the department over the scope of the order allowed Salser to go forward on what one inspector characterized as a “day-by-day” basis.

“I extend my personal apologies and the department’s apologies. We will try to do better in the future,” said Andrew Adelman, general manager of the Building and Safety Department.

Salser, a biology professor who helped form the pioneering genetic engineering firm Amgen in the early 1980s, has spent nearly 1 1/2 years trying to turn the steep slope into a terraced garden that he hopes to eventually cover with native oaks and plants.

He and his wife plan to tear down a house on top of the hill and build a large new one.

As he did in an October story in The Times, the 58-year-old Salser contended Tuesday that he had proper permits for the work. He asserted that recent rains had caused only minor slope slippage and erosion--problems that his full-time crew of laborers had moved to quickly handle.

But neighbors told building commissioners that as many as eight slope failures have occurred this winter. They complained that they were misled about the scope of Salser’s project and its impact on Rustic Canyon, long known as one of the city’s most pristine natural areas.

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Commission members criticized Salser for not halting his bulldozing in September.

“You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself--you’re fortunate people who live in that area are as temperate as they are” and haven’t taken things into their own hands, Commissioner Lee Kanon Alpert told him.

Commissioners ordered Salser to allow neighbors, city officials and geologists on his property Thursday morning to begin planning emergency repairs and slope restoration.

There may be plenty to do.

“This is a large property. There are problems throughout the property,” inspector Glen Donofrio told the panel.

Donofrio said two of the recent landslides were the result of illegal retaining walls built by Salser from lumber scavenged from demolished houses in the Pacific Palisades area.

He said Salser has apparently also built wooden retaining walls off his land--although “I don’t know the extent of Mr. Salser’s property” because an accurate topographic map does not exist.

“There’s no way to completely cover” the bulldozed slope with plastic to protect it from rain “or I’d say do that,” Donofrio added.

Richard Rozzelle, a representative of the state parks department, told officials that substantial amounts of debris sliding from Salser’s property have ended up in Rustic Canyon Creek.

Downstream residents voiced concern that hundreds of feet of bulldozed hillside could slip into the stream and create a dam that might give way in a major storm.

“We’re going to have a wall of water eight, 10 feet high coming,” said Ernie Meadows, president of the Homeowners Assn. of Rustic Canyon. “I’m concerned about life and limb . . . a potential wipeout.”

Others blamed city officials for twiddling their thumbs while Salser bulldozed.

“I’m dumbfounded this has happened,” said Joe Shepherd, manager of a Boy Scout camp in the canyon.

Randy Young, a Rustic Canyon historian and past president of the Pacific Palisades Community Council, said: “This took months to happen. Where the hell was the city in protecting us? I feel we have been betrayed.”

Nina Rosenfeld, president of the Upper Riviera Homeowners Assn., bemoaned the environmental damage. “We feel totally deceived,” she said.

Adelman was sympathetic. “I take responsibility,” the Building and Safety Department chief said. “We have not met your expectations.”