Red Car Property Lot C: More Uncovered Truckloads Of Dirt, Bulldozer Delivery

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 22, 2017.  At 7 AM yesterday, more uncovered truckloads of dirt began arriving for the Riverside Drive construction site, using the Red Car Property north of India Street.  

The motorhome, parked on the Red Car Property with someone living in it, has become a permanent feature of the site since October.

The Red Car Property is not a park, nor is it a city street right of way.  Silver Lake Court is west of the Red Car Property.  This is Lot C north of India Street.  

More than a year ago the architect for the adjacent Riverside Drive 13-unit development told me they would not be using the Red Car Property for deliveries, hauling nor storage of vehicles or equipment or for access to their site. 

They fail to make any attempt to control fugitive dust while driving on the Red Car Property.  That shouldn't be surprising since they also make no attempt at covering the dirt in the truck beds as required by state and city codes.  No haul route was established for the site. The route to this part of the Red Car Property involves hairpin turns on Substandard Hillside Streets that go past the driveways for Allesandro Elementary School. 

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 22, 2017.  A mini bulldozer arrived early Friday morning too.

Red Car Property, Lot C: Choking On Dirt From Riverside Drive Construction

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 21, 2017.  Dump trucks hauled loads of dirt to and from the Riverside Drive construction site using the dirt roadway of Red Car Property north of India Street today.  The fugitive dust is out of control.  A neighbor reports at least six truck trips before 11 AM today.  They are not supposed to be using the Red Car Property for access, hauling or storing of equipment.  They've been doing all three.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 21, 2017. They are not keeping the dirt roadway sufficiently dampened to control fugitive dust.  In fact, they are not wetting the dirt road at all. They are not covering the truck loads of dirt, nor did they give notice to neighbors for hauling activity.  All of these things are boilerplate requirements by Building & Safety under the Los Angeles Municipal Code.  But then so is having a phone number posted on the construction fence.  It's not posted up here where people live.

Photo: December 21, 2017.  The motorhome (on the other side of the dump truck) has been parked behind the locked fence across the Red Car Property since October.  

The developer has an agreement with the Red Car Property owner to fence off a portion of the Red Car Property during construction of Riverside Drive lots.  The Riverside Drive development supposedly does not include the Red Car Property.

Since the motorhome arrived in October, neighbors report increased vehicle traffic at all hours, to and from the construction site.  The guy who lives in the motorhome uses a car to drive to and from his motorhome, as do his friends.  

According to neighbors, since the motorhome arrived, there's also been an increase of suspicious activity and dumping, north from India Street, on the Red Car Property.  There are also people living in sheds on a historically problematic, Red Car Property adjacent, Riverside Drive property.  

Motorhome usually parked on Allesandro, now behind locked gate above Riverside Dr construction site on Red Car Property @MitchOFarrell pic.twitter.com/HW9uMdLxiV

— Corralitas (@RedCarProperty) October 15, 2017

The Red Car Property is a lawless place.

LAFD Declares Red Flag Parking Restrictions Will Be In Effect Again Thursday

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, December 5, 2017.  Tuesday, neighbors who parked on the Freeway side of Corralitas Drive, in defiance of the Red Flag Day No Parking signs, got $68 tickets.  The point of the freeway side of the street being clear on Corralitas, where vehicle  access is extremely limited, is to have consistent access for emergency vehicles while leaving the street open for neighbors to escape safely.

After first lifting Red Flag parking restrictions 8 AM today, LAFD has called a Red Flag Day for tomorrow, Thursday December 7, 2017, beginning at 8AM.  Text of the message sent:

DATE/TIME: 12/06/2017 / 03:11:53PM

SUBJECT: RED FLAG PARKING RESTRICTIONS IN EFFECT

The City of Los Angeles has declared that Red Flag No Parking Restrictions to be in effect starting 8:00 AM on 12/07/2017 and will remain in effect until further notice.

For additional information please visit our website at: http://notify.lafd.org/redflag OR call 3-1-1. Thank you for your cooperation.

Note: The Call Center's operating hours are from 08:00 AM to 4:45 PM daily including weekends and holidays.

Ref:notify.lafd.org-37005

Red Car Property: Toilets, Bumper, Aquarium

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  Neighbor reports the toilets, bumper and aquarium arrived on Lot C of the Red Car Property at India Street, as soon as the previous pile of dumping was picked up earlier this month.  They are still there now.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 15, 2017.  Perhaps the dumping would be curtailed,  if the Red Car Property was closed to all motorized vehicles, except emergency vehicles, with steel gates similar to those on every fire road in Griffith and Elysian Park.

Riverside Drive: Closed For Repaving This Weekend

Map from Dept of Public Works.  

I got a confusing Media Advisory from the Dept of Public Works this week re: repaving and road closure of Riverside Drive.  Their map and the text of the advisory did not match up.  

Hector Vega in CD13 contacted me to clarify: they're repaving Riverside Drive between Newell and Birkdale.  Birkdale is just north of Dorris Place Elementary in the southern part of Elysian Valley.  

Vega said Public Works will be working north to south, Saturday and south to north, Sunday.  They will be scraping then paving 6 AM to 6PM.

Neighbors who live on Riverside Drive, Riverside Terrace, Riverside Place, Silver Lake Ave and India Street who only have vehicle access via Riverside Drive, as well as Corralitas Drive residents should plan extra time into your driving this weekend.   Residents will be able to take Riverside Drive, but plan ahead.  

Do NOT use the Red Car Property as a short cut.  Brush clearance has NOT been done yet.  Please do NOT cut through residential streets in Elysian Valley.

The Dodgers are NOT at home this weekend.  The project was postponed once due to Dodgers' schedule.

Red Car Property At India Street: Oh Sure, That'll Work

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 2, 2017.  A neighbor found a No Trespassing sign on the ground at India Street on the Red Car Property.  Looks like the Red Car Property owner is enabling neighbors to call the LAPD to enforce the trespass order on the homeless camp south of India Street near Rose Scharlin Nursery School. 

Red Car Property Lot C: Needs Brush Clearance

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 1, 2017.  Two months since the deadline for brush clearance passed (May 1, every year) and the Red Car Property (in this post, north of India Street) has yet to be cleared.  That huge dead Eucalyptus is in the 40' wide City street right-of-way for Silver Lake Court.  High voltage lines appear to go through the tree to the adjacent telephone pole.  The crumbling slope is Lot C of Red Car Property.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 1, 2017.  Just north of India Street, the grass is taller and much more dense than a year ago.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor July 1, 2017.  Another dead Eucalyptus was trimmed back during brush clearance in December 2016, only after the Red Car Property was red tagged and cleared by a LAFD brush clearance contractor.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 1, 2017.  The grass is so thick, you'd never know how crumbly the slope really is.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, July 1, 2017.  The 4th of July is 2 days away, but cigarettes can be tossed any day of the year. 

Send your concerns about brush clearance on the Red Car Property to CD13's Hector.Vega@lacity.org.

Red Car Property: Still Waiting For Brush Clearance

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, May 15, 2017.  Native Jimsonweed is holding its own among the tall, dry, non-native, invasive weeds on the south end of the Red Car Property.  

Still no sign of brush clearance by the property owner.

Corralitas Red Car Property: Why Does The Red Car Property Owner Get away With Not Doing Brush Clearance By May 1?

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, April 28, 2017.  When the dry weeds are taller than your dog, it's time to do the brush clearance.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Seems like every year we have to bitch about the fact the Red Car Property owner doesn't do the brush clearance by May 1 like the rest of the Hillside homeowners are required to do.

If you look closely at the small dirt slope in the background, that's where there was a 40' tall wall of trees (with some 80' tall Eucalyptus) separating Corralitas Drive and the Red Car Property from the southbound lanes of the 2 Freeway, prior to the June 19, 2016 Silver Lake Fire.  CalTrans used the fire as an excuse to cut down all the trees, including the trees that did not burn in the fire.  As a result, Corralitas Drive is hotter, dirtier drier and more dangerous than ever before.

Last year, we documented the hazard with photos sent to CD13 and LAFD Brush Clearance Unit prior to the fire.  Unfortunately, we were unable to post here in the month prior to the fire.

Neighbors, report your brush clearance concerns about the Red Car Property to CD13 Deputy: Hector.Vega@lacity.org and LAFD: LAFDBrush@lacity.org

Click here for all our brush clearance posts.

Red Car Property: Dumping, Weeds at India Street Entrance

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, April 28, 2017. The Red Car Property remains a lawless place.  The brush is dry and the dumping fresh at India Street.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor April 28, 2017.  Chairs and other debris are among the dumping.  If it is a resident, let's hope they requested a bulky item pick-up via the City's MyLA311, or it may take a while to get picked up.

On a positive note, the large opuntia cactus (on the slope) has recovered from 5 years of unprecedented drought. The mature cactus is good defensive landscaping for its drought tolerance, fire resistance and crime deterrence.   Plant it near windows and along fence lines.  

Deadline for brush clearance is May 1, every year.  That slope is on Red Car Property, Lot C at India Street.
 

Red Car Propery: Mudwatch, Rainfall Totals

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, February 18, 2017.  The Red Car Property was muddy, yet walkable, a day after the deluge.  

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge...

February 17 - 18, 2017: 2.4" (as of 9:30 AM)
Rain year to date: 23.1" (since Oct. 1)

Red Car Property: Mudwatch Lot C

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, January 5, 2017.  The fence blocking the walkable portion of the Red Car Property for the Riverside Drive construction site, also crosses the vernal pool on Lot C, forcing pedestrians up the slippery slope to access the portion of the trail the developer left open to the public.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The pile of drywall debris dumped a year ago remains to the right side of the frame. But look, through butchered trees, you can see Griffith Park.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, January 5, 2017.  The flat portion, where cars are parked, is the Red Car Property.  It is not a public road, nor is it even a public right of way.  To make it a private street, it would require a discretionary action by City Planning.  The upslope side is also Red Car Property.  It is well documented as the most crumbly slope on the property.  The side where most of the cars are parked, is where neighbors have encroached onto the Red Car Property by 20' or more.

See also: Vernal Pool on Lot C on October 14, 2009

Red Car Property Lot C: Mudwatch, Creeks, Stormwater Flow

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 24, 2016.  You can see the motor oil and other black stuff around the edges of the many deep puddles on Lot C.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 24, 2016.  Lot C Creek drains down toward India Street where it meets up with Red Car Creek (originating as Upper Red Car Canyon Creek), flows down India Street, then makes its way down to Riverside Drive.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 24, 2016.  Red Car Creek was not deterred by the City's paving of the vernal pool at the India Street entrance to the Red Car Property.

Today, City of LA laying asphalt in the vernal pool on Private property: Red Car Property at India St, 3rd time this month @MitchOFarrell pic.twitter.com/0JX9fYZ4GC

— Corralitas (@RedCarProperty) December 21, 2016

Yesterday, I received an email response from a representative of CD13 responding to my email inquiry including a neighbor's photos regarding the City's paving of the Red Car Property this week:

"Street Services is investigating this issue and should be getting back to us shortly. We're [the City] is not in the business of placing asphalt on private property so you can be assured that this won't happen again."

Red Car Property Lot C: Falling Rocks Ahead

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, December 24, 2016.  The slope to the right of the dirt road has always been the most crumbly slope on the Red Car Property (just north of the India Street entrance to the property).  In 2003, the developer included it as an "open space lot" in their failed 75-home plan.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Election Day 2016: VOTE TODAY!

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, November 7, 2016.  Is it the last sunrise before the decline of Western Civilization?  (Seen from the Red Car Property and India Street.) Certainly that's what the pundits on the losing side of today's never ending presidential smackdown election will be spewing for years to come.

If you haven't already done so, enjoy the sunrise and VOTE TODAY!  

Not sure where your polling place is? LA County Registrar of Voters website has all the information you could possibly ever need regarding voting today: LAVote.Net

Polls are open 7AM to 8PM.  If you are in line by 8PM you will be allowed to vote.  Allesandro Elementary School Auditorium poll is an easy walk, if you live in the neighborhood.

Red Car Property: Developer Blocked Walkable Portion Of Trail, But Did Brush Clearance (After Some Arm Twisting)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  From a distance, it appears the construction fence for the 14 unit development on Riverside Drive is blocking the Red Car Property, north of India Street.  However, they left us passage on the upslope side of the fence, hidden behind a silver Mercedes.  (The Mercedes finally left last night, after being parked there more than a month.)  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  The pile of drywall dumped last January is on the downslope side of the trail, along with a reduced pile of salvage and trash on the 20 - 30' of downslope that is Red Car Property.  No word if people are still living in the sheds further downslope.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  Neighbors still aren't buying the line from the Riverside Drive developer, that he doesn't have a deal to develop this part of the Red Car Property.  They only cleared the brush from the path here once I bitched at him that it was not a functional path he claimed to have given us.  It was full of trampled down brush and castor beans.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  The heritage Coast Live Oak is still standing.  The developer blocked the highly used portion of the trail, and left us the narrow portion between the slope and the dust screened, chain link fence. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  There are a few leaves left on what was the most beautiful California Black Walnut Tree on the Red Car Property.  Last month, the developer's brush clearance crew cut all the new growth from the tree for no good reason.  The tree is definitely on the Red Car Property.

This site is not the site of the proposed zone change to allow 49 units.  However, you better believe if they get the zone change and subdivision for condos on the south end of the property the remaining lots will be subject to a development application.  

Red Car Property: Dead Eucalyptus & Dry Brush On Lot C, Adjacent Streets

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016. We documented the quick demise of the huge Eucalyptus on the  upper part of the slope in 2015.  It's in an Adelbert backyard, adjacent to the Red Car Property.  The lower dead Eucalyptus died a few months later.  It's on the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 8, 2016.  A third and even larger Eucalyptus died this year within the Silver Lake Court, a public right-of-way.   High voltage lines appear to pass through the Eucalyptus adjacent to the dead tree.  A City crew cleared brush from the paper street months ago, but left the tree.

Silver Lake Court is a City "paper street," west of and adjacent to the Red Car Property.  Worth noting, in the 2003, failed 75 home development application for the Red Car Property, this was identified as the "open space lot."  The open space lot included the slope contained by a giant retaining wall.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 16, 2016.  The stand of dead trees is on the Red Car Property's Lot C, at India Street.  They are directly below power lines.  The trees died in 2013.  We don't know why this is acceptable to LAFD Brush Unit or LADWP.  We submit photos of them every year to the Brush Unit.  

During the June 19, 2016 Silver Lake Fire, neighbors on Roselin, and Riverside Dr, upslope from this location, witnessed 6 - 8" burning embers flying by their houses.

As of today, neighbors report no brush clearance has occurred on the Red Car Property, other than the previously mentioned clearance around the construction fence.  One neighbor reported seeing a LAFD Fire Marshall drive in and out of the property north of India Street yesterday.

Lot C: The More Things Change...

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 16, 2016.  Arrow is pointing to drywall dumped in January, still on Red Car Property's Lot C in June, along with the guy living in the truck, and the tidied and migrating piles of debris.  The trees benefited from a reasonable amount of rain last winter.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, October 2, 2016.  Last week, neighbors said a couple of guys, joined by the LAPD, paid a visit to the guy living in the white truck.  Later the same day, he and his truck were gone.  The pile of drywall, now a moldy mess, is still there.  

The trees were trimmed badly.  I wouldn't expect that pine tree to make it though an earthquake or a massive rainstorm.  That type of pine tree tends to lean, but poor trimming will hasten its demise.  All of the trees in this shot are on the Red Car Property, including some protected California Black Walnuts.  According to the architect of the Riverside Drive Lots, they have permission from Red Car Property owner to place the fence and, apparently, butcher the trees.  The Red Car Property extends about 20' downslope, to the right of the plywood fence.

Photo enlarged from previous shot.  Maybe in another 20 years the drywall will biodegrade. 

Red Car Property: Fence, Water Lines, Suspicious Neighbors

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 26, 2016.  When water lines crossed the Red Car Property, yet another neighbor texted photos and suspicions of the Riverside Drive developer of who appeared to take a very large portion of the Red Car Property in the past week.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 26, 2016.  I spoke to the architect for the Riverside Drive project (between Gilroy and Clearwater) on September 23. I asked him to clear the path adjacent the fence, since he claimed we could still walk through.  (He also hoped the fence would stop people from dumping.  The photo above indicates otherwise.)

The photos and reports I'd received from neighbors, said it was very difficult to walk through due to the heavy build up of trampled dry brush and castor beans.  It was a fire hazard.  I had already sent the photos of the fence to the Red Car Property owner's rep, asking when brush clearance would be done, since this is the start Santa Ana Wind season.  Brush clearance happened the next day.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 26, 2016.  The architect claimed the water lines are temporary for the trees and other landscaping they will plant on the Red Car Property slope.  The Red Car Property actually extends 20-30  feet downslope.  

The fence to the right of the formerly most beautiful protected native Black Walnut Tree on the Red Car Property  was placed by a previous Riverside Drive lot owner in an attempt at extending their backyard.

I questioned the Riverside Drive project architect's agreement with the Red Car Property owner.  He seems to be doing what everyone else has done throughout the years, counting on the fact the Red Car Property is very hard to develop and hopefully the trees won't get taken out by future development on the Red Car Property.  He said they would maintain and water the newly planted trees on the Red Car Property for 2 years.  I asked if there was an agreement in writing.  He failed to answer.

Worth noting, cultivated trees (planted in a landscape project) are not protected by the City's Protected Native Tree Ordinance.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, September 26, 2016.  Last weekend people panicked when brush clearance was finally done on the upslope side,  between the fence and homes on Adelbert.  

The Riverside Drive architect swears they will not be using the fenced portion of the Red Car Property for grading, hauling, staging, storing  or for deliveries for anything other than landscape related to planting the the slope. Nor are they building the Red Car Property.   The fence seems a bit of overkill for a fence to keep out dumping and to keep people off their plantings.  He claims to have an agreement with the Red Car Property owner.  The Red Car Property owner's rep did not reply to questions regarding this agreement.
 

Red Car Property: Not A Park, Not A Road

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 30, 2016.  The Red Car Property is not a public road despite several mapping services identifying it as "Silver Lake Court."  Silver Lake Court does not extend this far.  It is a land locked paper street that has never been built, existing only on City maps, only connecting to two public staircases, Roselin and Silver Lake Ave.  Silver Lake Court does not intersect India Street.

Neighbors report trucks for the 13 Riverside Drive lots currently being graded (off camera to the right), were driving on and off the Red Car Property last week.  If you live off the Red Car Property, on Riverside, Adelbert or India St (east of the Red Car Property) and are seeing a number of trucks using the Red Car Property for access to 2344-2424 Riverside Drive, report it to Building & Safety.  This is not an acceptable "haul route."

Worth noting in the lower right corner of the above photo: the blue bin of trash has been migrating around Lot C of the Red Car Property for quite some time.