Page 2: The waters of Paradise
The Mono County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reject Matthew Lehman’s appeal of a noise variance granted to the Lower Rock Creek Mutual Water Company (LRCMWC).
The LRCMWC, which represents 145 Paradise homeowners, had requested the variance, approved by the Mono County Planning Commission, to drill a new well.
Because of drought conditions in California, well drillers have told LRCMWC that they’ll only come do the job if they’re allowed to drill 24/7, seven days a week, which would be a violation of county ordinance.
However, a vast majority of Paradise residents signed a petition indicating they are fine with the noise – better noise than no water.
And better water than having the existing well run dry – when another fire crops up.
Lehman does not live in the neighborhood and would not be affected by the noise. He does, however, own neighboring property which he has long sought to develop, and says his development group spent approximately $1.3 million to drill two wells.
At the time he drilled his wells, he says he was forced to test the LRCMWC well “to make sure I wasn’t creating an impact.”
He says his appeal was made in part to protect his investment, as the LRCMWC isn’t being held to the same standard. “They [the County] are kind of making the rules up as they go … and to me, it looks like they’re counting votes [when it comes to decision-making].”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Attorney Tim Sanford, on behalf of the LRCMWC, said Lehman’s appeal was ill-timed. “If he was worried about the effect [of a new LRCWMC well] on his wells, he should’ve brought it up in 2010.”
That’s when the new LRCMWC well was approved.
“Why is he complaing about noise to his parcel when his property is bare land?” asked Sanford rhetorically. “I suppose he’d be affected if he wants to have a picnic.”
What’s disappointing in all this is that it appears there could be a win-win solution for both parties.
Lehman, who says he has $2.5 million invested in the property, had had enough. He’s looking to dump the whole site at a substantial loss (the asking price for the property is $600,000).
If the LRCMWC bought his property, they’d not only get the wells, but it would remove the possibility of development on the ridge on the opposite side of the canyon.
Lehman says the LRCMWC got a drill quote for a new well at $250,000.
Ironic, because Lehman says he got a smiliar quote when he drilled, and then the ultimate price was more than double. “And they’ve got the same rock formation,” he added.
But there appears too much distrust to swing a deal. Jim Moyer, President of the LRCMWC Board, claimed that Lehman threatened to bog down the water company in litigation if it would not buy him out.
CHP gets popped
The rarely used “1199” call sign, or officer in need of immediate attention and an indication of the worst of the worst, was issued Thursday morning in Big Pine by two California Highway Patrol officers, one a sergeant. According to the CHP, officers were following up on a Be On Look Out (BOLA) for Darrell Maddox, Jr. Maddox had allegedly beaten up an Inyo County Sheriff’s Department squad car and a deputy the night before, was arrested and released. The next day, Thursday, a BOLA was issued for Maddox for his alleged assault and robbery. Unconfirmed rumors are that Maddox beat up an old man and took his cell phone and wallet. The CHP officers found Maddox, he resisted and even struck the sergeant in the face. The three struggled and a Taser was deployed, but was ineffective. Maddox was eventually detained. The sergeant, who was unnamed, earned some respect among the deputies for getting his hands dirty.
