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Residents urge city enforcement after developer cuts drainage at Cove at El Niguel site
Summary
Three residents told Laguna Niguel city council that a developer disconnected a long-standing drainage system at the Cove at El Niguel site, creating a 6-foot pit, fueling repeated pumping with a gas-powered generator, and posing mosquito and fire risks; they asked the city to require immediate reconnection and fill the pit.
Nathan Smith, a Laguna Niguel resident, told the City Council on Sept. 16 that a developer working on the Cove at El Niguel project disconnected a drainage system that historically drained a nearby V-shaped drainage ditch, causing flooding onto adjacent private property. “The developer disconnected the drainage system without implementing a functional alternative in contravention of the plans approved by the city,” Smith said. He described an approximately 6-foot-deep pit “about the size of a small swimming pool” and said workers have been using a gas-powered pump and hoses on a semiweekly basis for about seven months to avoid overflow.
Why it matters: Neighbors said the makeshift pumping, left near dry brush, increases the risk of both mosquito breeding and fire near homes. Cheryl…
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