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Residents urge Madera County supervisors to ease building moratorium in Hidden Lake Estates
Summary
Residents of Hidden Lake Estates told the Madera County Board of Supervisors the county’s long-standing building moratorium is being enforced inconsistently and is preventing homeowners from making safety improvements; they asked the board to allow limited, noncombustible ancillary structures with on-site water storage.
At the July 14 Madera County Board of Supervisors meeting, homeowners from Hidden Lake Estates pressed county leaders to make carve-outs to a building moratorium that they say has blocked necessary safety and property-improvement work for years.
"My family has resided on our property for the last 10 years…we've applied for different permits and had been denied," said Alicia Paris, who said her family was blocked from putting down a concrete pad for a future metal structure while other nearby property owners built large storage buildings and homes without permits. "This disparity in enforcement effectively rewards noncompliance while disadvantaging those who have chosen to follow the rules." (Alicia Paris, Hidden Lake Estates resident.)
Another resident, Dave Perez, told the board the moratorium dates to 2009 and was originally tied to completing a water-treatment plant. He said progress on water infrastructure and road repairs has been slow and that homeowners need limited allowances to make safety-focused improvements. "We just need a good place to park and then we'll be ready to build a metal building," Perez said.
Both speakers requested that the board reconsider the moratorium’s scope to permit ancillary, noncombustible storage buildings where homeowners provide adequate on-site water storage for fire prevention.
The board did not take action on the public comments during the meeting. Chair McCauley thanked speakers and said supervisors would consider their concerns as part of moratorium review and related infrastructure planning.
What's next: The matter was raised during public comment; any formal change to the moratorium would require staff review and a future agenda item for board consideration.
