Truckloads of dirt have been deposited at Lower Curtis Park recently, raising questions about the reason for the unsightly dumping.
The City says the material is clean dirt transported from the Crown Valley Parkway project by the City’s vendor, All American Asphalt. It is the contractor’s obligation to knock the piles down and spread the dirt flat, according to City Manager Dennis Wilberg. He says the City is reducing expense by allowing the dumping locally.
A few years ago there was public criticism when another City contractor, Granich Construction, fenced an area of the property and used it for commercial storage, because Lower Curtis Park is zoned for use as recreation/open space. At that time the City also had trailers with fossils stored on the property. The Planning Commission expressed concern about the property being used for unzoned purposes, and the site was thereafter improved.
Visitors to the site report some of the current material includes asphalt and broken concrete, so the City intends to do an inspection. A storage trailer in the photo apparently is used by a landscaping contractor.
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I am very familiar with the last “dumping episode” at Lower Curtis Park. At that time the city administration said it was cleaning up some “illegal” dumping of material at the site. Larry Gilbert pulsed the Sheriff’s records and found no log/report of any “illegal” dumping.
So the next tall tale was unleashed on the citizenry.
The administration said, Oh, we are just taking weight off the water pipe that runs under that site. The present city manager, Dennis Wilberg was in charge of that activity.
So I guess there is no “weight on the pipe” issue any longer. Could it be that the city administration is getting ready for the long postponed stealth fields at Lower Curtis Park.
Stay tuned on this one.
I checked out both Lower Curtis Park and Crown Valley Parkway, and I doubt all the dirt came from the Crown Valley Parkway project. I’d like more information on this. Prior to using Lower Curtis Park as a dump, the city for years used Oso Viejo Park as a landfill, despite residents’ complaints to the council.
These parks and open spaces are a valued part of our neighborhoods. To have contractors use them as landfills and commercial storage areas abuses the intended purpose.