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No
one knows who ordered massive road changes
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
 ALPINE — A Reynolds Communities housing project, under construction just west of Marshall Road and south of Marshall Way, had sewage flowing into the water line of one longtime resident and walled another inside a solid wall of dirt with a road re-design that Reynolds blames on the county and about which the county is confused.
Ponderosa Estates is a 24-home neighborhood on a seven-plus-acre plot. It has already prompted numerous complaints from residents during the earlier portions of construction when its trucks were speeding through town and even shooting large rocks into business properties along the way. California Highway Patrol set up special enforcement along Tavern Road and Alpine Boulevard.
The project also resulted in prohibited stormwater run-off that flooded homes on Olivewood Lane last winter.
Early last week, the company broke a sewer line and a water line on Marshall Way that allowed sewer water to flow into potable water in a Padre Dam line.
Other residents experienced problems with postal service when construction crews moved the mail box post from position and left it leaning up against a nearby fence, still filled with mail. Residents contacted the sheriff’s department and the postmaster and learned that the project had been granted temporary movement of the mailboxes while construction is going on.
So far as Marshall Road residents knew before roadwork started, the company was only going to improve the existing road.
“We were not informed of any road work on our street past the project. We were under the impression that it would be left alone,” said resident Vonnie Sanchez. “We were unaware of any redesign until the later part of July.”
At that time, a Reynolds representative came to her for a signed permission to come onto her property, and stake the edge of the private easement and “construct certain improvements on the public right-of-way.”
The project itself will exit onto a county owned portion of Marshall Road north of existing homes, however current construction is being done on the road south of the project as well, on a private easement that has been used by residents of Marshall Road and Marshall Court for over 50 years.
In original plans for the project, developers wanted to create a second entrance to the subdivision linked to Olivewood Lane. This idea was successfully fought by residents and was rejected.
By its own admission, Reynolds agreed that, with only one entrance to the project, road improvements south of the development on Marshall Court would not be necessary.
“The subdivision does not take access off Marshall Court, a private road. Rather the access to the subdivision is from the publicly dedicated section of Marshall Way and the short publicly dedicated section of Marshall Road south of Marshall Way,” reads a letter from Reynolds regarding the change.
Despite this, road construction has been underway for several weeks.
Resident are questioning why this work is even being done, if this portion of Marshall Road will not be affected by the development.
According to the Reynolds Communities Ponderosa Estates project superintendent Pat Fermoile, the road redesign was required by the county.
County staff, however, is under the impression that this portion of the road will serve the new subdivision.
“I do not fault the county at all in this,” said Marshall Court resident Bob McFarlane. “I think they have been duped by Reynolds.”
Despite miscommunication and misunderstanding between the county, developers and residents, the
construction continues.
The redesign of the road has completely changed the topography of the area. A once slow graded hill, the new road is much more steep and narrow.
According to the county, the section of Marshall Road south of Marquand Court (project entrance) will have a 16 foot driveway at the south leg of the intersection for access and will be re-graded to be a 12 foot wide decomposed granite access road.”
Fire inspectors however, have already stated that the road will need to be 16 to 20 feet wide in order for emergency vehicles to access the southern part of Marshall Road and Marshall Court. County staff has not been able to reconcile this discrepancy, as of yet, but have not called a halt to work pending resolution of the confusion.
“They’ve got the potential for a really dangerous situation,” Sanchez said. Her home is now surrounded by construction. “They’ve basically taken a good road and turned it into a hazardous one.”
Sanchez’s concern, as well other residents on Marshall, is that drivers coming down the road
 could loose control and careen off the edge, landing directly on her home.
“I have lived in this house since 1967 and never worried about someone driving through or landing on my house until now,” said Sanchez.
“If anyone is intoxicated, or just driving quickly and they get distracted, they could easily fly off the road,” McFarlane said.
The project’s entrance also creates a new odd-shaped intersection at the corners of Marshall Way, Marquand Court and Marshall Road. The steep road being built to the south of the project could be a dangerous blind hill for drivers coming north from Marshall Court.
“There will be stop signs installed at the southwest corner of Marquand Court (project entrance) and Marshall Road to stop eastbound traffic and the northeast corner of Marshall Road and Marshall Way to stop westbound traffic,” said Derek Gade, public works manager for the San Diego County Department of Private Development Construction Inspection.
At the Aug. 25 meeting of the Alpine Community Planning Group, chairman Mark Price read a letter about the road construction and the APG voted to send a second letter to District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob to ask her attention and assistance in the matter.
Photo: The road used to run up a
gentle incline. Above, the road has been built up to a steep
slope and this Marshall Road home was surrounded by a wall of
dirt on two sides in the process.
Christy
Scott/The Alpine Sun
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