Essence of Life

Confessions of a Santa Cruz Mountains Grading and Drainage Specialist Civil Engineer

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

What does it take to be a grading and drainage specialist in Santa Cruz County? Simple. It takes cutting your teeth on doing the projects nobody else wants to do, or can do. It takes being ready to take on anything when the larger firms are consuming their resources doing the easy work, the shopping centers, the subdivisions, the stuff in town. It takes being that engineer who understands and applies the art of civil engineering for what it is, that of venturing into the unknown, applying the laws of physics in their simplest and purest forms, learning on the job, and having the conviction, one obtains after countless hours of intensive study of the most minute of details, that the design solution is final and correct. It takes repetition. And yes, this engineer has seen his share of difficult and unusual grading projects in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

One rule of thumb, if it has an ocean view it usually gets built no matter how much it costs.

Castles made of sand melt into the sea, eventually. - Jimi Hendrix

The Santa Cruz Mountains are by and large crumbling into the Pacific, literally. The Santa Cruz Mountains are riddled with geologic faults. These mountains are alive, experiencing earthquakes almost daily. Think I'm kidding? Visit this real time earthquake monitoring site by USGS here. The vast web of old growth redwood tree roots was decimated over 100 years ago and has since been replaced with short life-span deciduous trees, firs and even Ponderosa pines. The decimation of the old growth redwoods has created an accelerated and unstable erosive state throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, and now we have added urbanization to the equation. Is there an equation here? No. What we have is a "castles made of sand" effect.

Look at the historical photographs of the California coastline. It has eroded severely in the last 60 or so years. Why? Urbanization. The same thing is happening in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but with the added effect of deforestation.

So now the stage is set. A considerable portion of my engineering practice focuses on doing grading and drainage design work in these crumbling Santa Cruz Mountains. Each project is a new adventure, no two are the same, and for that I appreciate the beauty of the work. Plus, most projects I work on involve a certain discovery process, once I see the building site I understand why folks want to go through the expenditure. Most of the places I work on are special, which gives me motivation.

Ballona Creek Watershed and the Lost Wetlands of Los Angeles

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:11:00 GMT

I was doing some research for a drainage case, which brought me to Archer v. City of Los Angeles (Archer v. City of Los Angeles 19 Cal. 2d 19) and found myself somewhat amazed by the historical context of what I was reading. The Archer case was about a property owners suing for damages resulting from the City and County of Los Angeles' construction of drainage improvements in the mid 1930s. The Archers owned property in Venice, near Ballona Lagoon. The City and County of Los Angeles had constructed storm drain improvements within the Ballona Creek watershed that collected runoff from some 134 square miles. These "improvements' caused massive flooding in the Venice area, Archer's lands included. Given the context of the times when the development vision for the L.A. basin was that of all out maximizing real estate quantity and forcing rivers and creeks into concrete channels, what I discovered about the case was that the engineers testifying for the plaintiff were basically saying that urbanization was causing the flooding and that the storm drainage control philosophy adopted by the City and County was a bad idea. I found Judge Carter's dissent particularly illuminating on the subject of inverse condemnation and eminent domain.

So, being a native Hermosa Beach myself, I was fixated on the history of this Ballona Creek and talked with my parents about their recollections of the Venice and Playa Del Rey (my great grandmother lived in PDR) areas and of course ran a Google search and found this amazing piece: The Lost Wetlands of Los Angeles, by Nathan Masters. I was blown away. Mr. Masters' article summarized the efforts of a team of scientists and geographers to re-create this historical Ballona Creek and its tributaries. This is exactly the kind of work I do in my forensic practice, although mine is on a much smaller scale. They found a wealth of information in the old rancho maps and subsequent government surveys. They noted, for example, that the Los Angeles River once flowed westerly into what is now the Ballona Creek watershed before some cataclysmic event in around 1825 caused it to change course and flow south to the San Pedro Bay. What? Yes. Perhaps an earthquake or flood, or both? Maybe the Mission records could reveal some details.

Take a look at this map of Ballona Historical Ecology.

Interesting stuff.

Eminent Domain Distinguished from Police Power

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:00:00 GMT

An interesting piece I came across while researching court cases involving drainage issues:

"Every one is bound so to use his own property as not to interfere with the reasonable use and enjoyment by others of their property. For a violation of this duty the law provides a civil remedy. Besides this obligation, which every property owner is under to the owners of neighboring property, he is also bound so to use and enjoy his own as not to interfere with the general welfare of the community in which he lives. It is the enforcement of this last duty which pertains to the police power of the State so far as the exercise of that power affects private property. Whatever restraints the legislature imposes upon the use and enjoyment of property within the reason and principle of this duty, the owner must submit to, and for any inconvenience or loss which he sustains thereby, he is without remedy. It is a regulation, and not a taking, an exercise of police power, and not of eminent domain. But the moment the legislature passes beyond mere regulation, and attempts to deprive the individual of his property, or of some substantial interest therein, under pretense of regulation, then the act becomes one of eminent domain, and is subject to the obligations and limitations which attend an exercise of that power..... It is sufficient for the present purpose to point out the distinction between the two powers. Under the one, the public welfare is prompted by regulating and restricting the use and enjoyment of property by the owner; under the other, the public welfare is promoted by taking the property from the owner and appropriating it to some particular public use." (Lewis, Eminent Domain, 3rd ed., vol. 1, sec. 6, p. 13)

A Local Land Surveyor Muses on Sonoma

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:55:00 GMT

As a land surveyor and civil engineer, my gaze usually focuses on land. Why does the land take this shape and form? Why does this type of vegetation grow here? What did this land look like 200 years ago? These leading questions send me off on all kinds of related subjects, which brings me to this.

Why did the Missionaries choose modern day Sonoma as the site of their final Mission San Francisco Solano? It is fair to say that the missionaries were excellent land speculators, they occupied some of the most beautiful lands in California. The Napa vs. Sonoma debate rages on in the wine industry, but why didn't Father Altimira site his mission somewhere along the present day Napa River at the base of the famous Napa Valley? Locals today notice that the Napa Valley is a bit hotter in the summer than neighboring Sonoma Valley. Maybe Father Altimira suspected his grapes would grow better in the cooler location of present day Sonoma? The Father's decision was likely based on the availability of a sustainable (at that time) water supply. In July of 1823, Father Altimira wrote that "Sonoma is a fountain of fountains" as he witnessed the numerous springs in the area feeding Sonoma Creek. Surely the Father also appreciated the benefits of nearby hot springs as well.

It is readily apparent that the Missionaries knew how to choose the best lands. Having traveled and lived up and down the California coast for most of my life, one thing that always strikes me is that nearly every Mission site is now in the middle of a bustling city or town, or it is a sleepy little weekend getaway spot. Among the rather unappreciated legacies left behind by the Missionaries is the fact that they were the first to employ civil engineering and land surveying as skills critical to their survival.

Conservation Easements in California - Who benefits?

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

According to Black's Law Dictionary, 9th Ed., a conservation easement is a "recorded perpetual, nonpossessory interest in real property held by a government entity or by a qualified nonprofit entity that imposes restrictions or affirmative obligations on the property's owner or lessee to retain or protect natural, scenic, or open-space values of real property, ensure its availability for agricultural, forest, recreational, or open-space use, protect natural resources and habitat, maintain or enhance air or water quality, or preserve the historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural aspects of the real property".

Conservation easements are popular among ranchers and other agricultural property owners as "a way to resolve estate-tax issues, forestall family disputes, prevent heirs from dividing or selling the land, preserve natural qualities, and retain the family ranch (or farm) intact." (quote from article below)

Sounds great, but it is the holder of the easement that worries people. We are talking about land use restrictions on real property. These restrictions are often being offered and held by government entities in exchange for money, lesser taxes, or by other financial incentives. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and who doesn't need money these days. But these conservation easements can be tricky and expose property owners to unforeseen land use restrictions at the time and even further restrictions as land use policies change over time. Partnering with the government is an invitation for the government to enter your property and interfere with your property rights. Beware.

Have a look at this article by Bob Perkins, which appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Range Magazine: Conserving California.

And for further understanding of the legal implications of consvervation easements in California, do not pass up this brief paper written by David Ivester of the law firm Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP: Conservation Easements - The Primer

Cadillac Desert: The Television Documentary

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

As an appropriate intro, I recommend first viewing this video of Woody Gutherie's Roll On Columbia, Roll On. In classic Guthrie style, there is a certain cynicism in his lyrics. Hmm.

I first read Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert shortly after graduating with my bachelors in civil engineering and picked it up again nearly 14 years later to discover a whole new depth and meaning to his book. The engineer as an instrument to the cronyism that is politics. For better or worse, the world we see today "is what it is".

Having never seen or heard of the following documentary, I must say that the film only loosely follows the book. And the book is much better as it goes into much further detail. With that said, here you go:

Part 1: Mulhollands Dream

1 of 9

2 of 9

3 of 9 "Surveyors said they could build the aquaduct simply by following the trail of whiskey bottles...." - 2:44

Part 2: An American Nile

1 of 6 8:10 - Surveyors mapping the canyons

2 of 6

3 of 6 5:47 - "Geez! Those are surveyors!"

4 of 6

5 of 6

6 of 6

Part 3: The Mercy of Nature

Part 4: Last Oasis

Does the EPA Want to Steal Your Breath?

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Global Warming. Where do you stand? Who is making the Coolaid. Which way to Jonestown? The corporations don't care if democrats or republicans win elections. Government kills one industry and another pops up, the corporations simply branch into that new industry. The rich stay rich, get more rich, and the rest squabble about democrats and republicans and who should be in charge.

Is the EPA the Gestapo wing of the left? Who are the real lemmings?

Read this and decide for yourself - another article by Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D., from the Spring issue of Range Magazine: http://www.rangemagazine.com/features/spring-12/range-sp12-epa-economy.pdf

An Assault on Property Rights Equates to an Assualt on Liberty?

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMT

That is what the founding fathers believed.

The following article from the Fall 2005 issue of Range Magazine by Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D., takes the reader on a tour through the heart of the environmentalist agenda and ends by stating that private "property rights are as important to the environment as they are to the people."

http://www.rangemagazine.com/specialreports/05-fall-taking-liberty.pdf

And for further enjoyment...... Remember the True Sounds of Liberty, or TSOL?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETKuoHlYuHM

Our Federal Landlord - God Save the 10th Amendment

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 19:40:00 GMT

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." U.S. Constitution - Amendment 10

Why does the federal government own so much land in the western United States when it was the philosophy of the founding fathers, as demonstrated with the passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, that lands would not be held perpetuity by the federal government? What is the environmentalist agenda, and what is it's motivation?

"The fact which the politician faces is merely that there is less honor among thieves than was supposed, and not the fact that they are thieves." Henry David Thoreau

For further pondering of the above questions and more, have a look at this interesting article by Michael S. Coffman, Ph.D. that appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of Range Magazine:

http://www.rangemagazine.com/specialreports/range-wi12-our_federal_landlord.pdf

Forensic Consulting in the Fallout of Yamagiwa v. City of Half Moon Bay

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT

As a layperon coursing through the routines of everyday life, one would not ordinarily contemplate that their local government might be depriving citizens of their Unalienable Rights. That was in fact exactly the case a few years back in the City of Half Moon Bay. The City of Half Moon Bay's environmental agenda was realized at a near catastrophic cost when Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the US District Court for the Northern District of California handed down his decision on Yamagiwa v. City of Half Moon Bay (N.D. Cal. 2007) 523 F.Supp.2d 1036. The court held that the City was liable for inverse condemnation, the taking of private property for public use without just compensation. As stated in the Fifth Amendment, U.S. Constitution, "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Setting a precedent where a municipality that causes wetlands to develop on a property as a result of a public works project is responsible for the ensuing damage, Judge Walker set fire under the feet of the regulatory agencies across the US and the legal community has brought the marshmellows to roast. And fortunately, Judge Walker's decision has also kept CFS Engineering's office phone ringing steadily ever since.

A quick gist: The City of Half Moon Bay by their actions related to stormwater infrastructure construction and maintenance inadvertently caused wetlands to form on plaintiff's property. When the owner sought to develop the property the City basically said that the property contained sensitive wetlands that cannot be disturbed and that no development could take place. The City's own wetlands determination cost the them $36.8 million when Judge Walker's gavel dropped.

Plaintiff put together a clear, convincing and simple case. Plaintiff's expert consultants needed nothing more than to look at a few old topographic maps and improvement plans and coupled with their reliance on the testimony of a neighbor who walked his dog for many years on the disputed property determine that it was the City who caused the wetlands to form. They never disputed the existence of wetlands, they just pointed out that the wetlands were man made. No need for science and engineering magic, just a few visual aids and some local testimony and that was it, done.

While the City busied themselves with the semantics of wetlands determination issues, it became clear to Judge Vaughn that they had no defense. It became clear that the City wanted a wetland on that property and they shopped around for experts willing to prostitute themselves out for a buck and tell the City what they wanted to hear. One City expert witness even used the old "because I said so!" adage at trial to describe his procedure for wetlands determination. How much did that indispensable expert testimony cost the City?

Our friends at Abbott & Kindermann, LLP put together a nice summary of the Case here: City's Accidental Creation of Wetlands Leads to Finding of Physical Taking and a $36.8 million Judgment Against City. Additionally, Ronald Zumbrun contributed a nice piece to Freedom Advocates summarizing the case here: The Cost of Wetlands in Half Moon Bay. And finally, Robert H. Thomas summarized his take on the case here: No. Cal. Federal Court Whacks City for $36.8 million Inverse Condemnation Award. Yes, Judge Vaughn's decision sent shock waves across the legal community.

Determining that the cause of wetland formation, or the formation of any other related sensitive habitat, was the result of a municipality's mismanaged stormwater control philosophy does not necessarily mean a property owner has a case against that municipality. Statutes of limitations are also at play. For example, as stated in Yamagiwa, when the "alleged damage to private property results from a 'continuous process of physical events,' rather than a single event, the law provides that a claim accrues when the taking has 'stabilized'." (Id. at p. 1105) The law seems to understand that there are almost always unintended consequences when man manipulates the natural world for his use and benefit, and that over time natural processes adjust to these altered landscapes as though man's interference never took place. Just as you cannot sue the Pharaohs for the environmental consequences of their meddling with the Nile River's course 5000 years ago, if your local city built a road fifty years ago and caused upland runoff to pond up as some offhand consequence which happened to result in wetland formation long before you took interest in developing the property, and that wetland, or other hydrologic feature, has remained for decades evolved to a point where it has stabilized in size, maturity, and has been recognized by the US Army Corps of Engineers or the State Dept. Fish and Game, chances are you as the property owner do not have a case. At issue is that pesky term "stability".

In light of Yamagiwa, the the affected property owner needs to be acutely aware of how the term stability impacts the legitimacy of a case. One of the main characteristics of the term stability in nature is resistance to external influences or change. In nature, stability is the state of being where there exists a basic harmony between organisms coexisting within the framework of the local ecosystem, or terrain. Everything is undisturbed and happy, the system is stable. Instability occurs when the system is subjected to external influences or forces that disrupt the harmony of the system. Once stability within a system has been achieved, then the statute of limitations begins to accrue. On the other hand, when a system is demonstrated to be in a state of flux, or evolution, then the statute of limitations does not accrue. When the facts, as in Yamagiwa, demonstrate that the wetland is expanding, then the statute of limitations does not accrue. Yamagiwa won the case because the City of Half Moon Bay decided to apply their own liberal definition of "wetland" in order to demonstrate that the subject wetland was expanding, apparently because they really deeply wanted to prohibit development on this property. The court as a result held that statute of limitations did not apply because the subject wetland was expanding and had not achieved stability.

Since the judgement in Yamagiwa was handed down there have been a few situations where the Yamagiwa case was improperly applied. See Accarat Fremont, LLC v. Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Cal: Court of Appeal, 1st Appellate Dist., 4th Div. 2009. In this case the court pointed out that the plaintiff knew the extent of the disputed wetlands since before they purchased the disputed property. The statute of limitations had long since run out on the plaintiff.

In summary, when dealing with cases similar to Yamagiwa, legal council needs to understand and communicate to the forensic consultant exactly how they intend to build their case. The "stability" component was critical to success in Yamagiwa. In Yamagiwa, the City of Half Moon Bay actually dealt plaintiffs the ace by admitting that they viewed the disputed wetlands as expanding, thereby wiping out any hope of a statute of limitations defense. The old man walking his dog may tell the story necessary to develop a stormwater related inverse condemnation case, but it will be the properly abreasted forensic consultant who determines the legitimacy of the case based on the issue of stability as it relates to takings claims.

South Bay Area Civil Engineer Warns of New Stormwater Regulations

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:56:00 GMT

A recent federal court ruling will intensify future stormwater discharge regulations in California and beyond.

In a recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, the court in Natural Resources Defense Council v. County of Los Angeles held that entities that control a "point source" will need to treat polluted stormwater before it is dishcarges in watercourses, even if they have not contributed to the pollution.

Check out this summary article, published by Ecology Law Quarterly.

These "entities" that the court refers to are your local city and county governments. Local governments will be required to implement stricter stormwater discharge regulations in order to comply with their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. These entities are going to need your tax dollars to implement the necessary stormwater treatment measures.

As a further consequence of the ruling, local governments are going to increasingly regulate stormwater discharges from residential, commercial, and industrial properties. This means that anybody applying for a building permit will also be required to retrofit their surface drainage systems to limit potential pollutants and runoff totals.

In my experience, most developers tend to forget about the cost of drainage improvements with their attention focused on the grandiose architectural features of the project. Not for long, this ruling means big cost impacts for everybody everywhere, not only in California.

Capitola Village Flood -- An Act of God?

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 07:00:00 GMT

I am shivering as I sit down to write this, wearing new and dry clothes just picked up from my friends next door at Free to Ride Surf Shop. Today is Saturday, March 26, 2011, two days after the great Capitola Village flood. I came in to work today to compile some thoughts on the Village flood from two days ago, but necessity changed my plans. Today was a day of frantic sandbagging and photo documenting, everybody involved was soaked to the bone as heavy rains persisted from the pre-dawn morning hours to about 11am. Even the girls at Yvonne's boutique, those cuties, dressed in cashmere and designer jeans and high heeled rain boots had to sigh and knock back a beer at 11am and watch the waters finally recede. Our pals at Stand Up Paddle Capitola brought out their boards and paddled through the village out to the beach to pick up sandbags and float them back to the businesses when the trucks could no longer deliver due to the water depth. Today was a flood like you see on TV along the Missouri or the Mississippi, today was the real Capitola Village Flood.

Before getting too deep into today's mess, I want to reflect a bit on Thursday's flood. Thursday, March 24, 2011, it had been raining fairly hard all day. I parked my wife's car the afternoon before in a metered spot and forgot to turn off the headlights and dammit if the thing wasn't dead when I returned, so I left if overnight with plans to jump it and move it first thing in the morning before we got a parking ticket. Well, the rain meant that the parking police were indoors for the day so I wasn't too worried. But damn if I didn't kill the battery with my little stunt. And this rain! Changing out a battery in the rain won't be any fun. So I decided to leave the office to get a new battery and check out a job site I've been doing an extensive hydrology and hydraulic study on. I figured it had been raining fairly hard all day, likely the biggest storm of this winter, even the biggest of the last couple winters, and to give this particular job site a quick check would be a good idea for our continued site monitoring. Over the bridge we noticed Soquel Creek chugging pretty good and 5 minutes later the Emergency Alert system came on the radio saying there was a flash flood warning and that Soquel Creek may approach flood stage within an hour. Exciting stuff for a hydrologic engineer so we figured it best to check our site and hurry back to watch the waters rise in Soquel Creek.

And this is what we came back to. Thursday, March 24, 2011:

Something didn't seem right. The job site we checked wasn't experiencing anything unusual, we've studied every significant storm over the last 20 years at this site, only a few miles away, and this storm appeared to be one that occurred about once every two years. So then, why was there so much flooding in Capitola? Something must have happened.

So on Friday, March 25, we did some quick investigating. This all occurred within steps of our office, so why not? It turns out the source of the water was a failed storm drain pipe at the top entrance to the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park off of Bay Avenue. The corrugated metal pipe failed causing stormwater to surface and run down Noble Gulch and then down Capitola Avenue and flood the Village. Damage was extensive, especially at the source of the failure.

Why did the pipe fail? How did the pipe fail? Was the storm drain system overwhelmed by the rainfall? Has the storm drain system experienced flows of similar magnitude in the past? The science underlying these questions is the study of hydrology and hydraulics, and it is the expert in hydrology and hydraulics that will find the answers to these questions. This is the practice of forensic hydrology, where the professional reconstructs the flood event through evidence gathered. Simulating the flood through the storm drain network and over the landscape is a study in forensic hydraulics.

God may have sent the rain, but its behavior when it hits the ground is predictable. The flood waters leave behind the clues necessary to determine its cause. Evidence such as photographs showing water line elevations on the sides of buildings or other fixed features and data from local rain gages are enough for the hydrologist to reconstruct the storm event. By constructing a model of the existing storm drain network through a combination of surveys, compiling as-built information of the storm drain system, and verification of existing features against record, the professional has all the tools necessary to simulate the flood event through the network and seek out the source of the failure.

The photos taken below represent all the necessary evidence for CFS Engineering to determine conclusively why the pipe failed and to show how the pipe failed. The cause is apparent to us based on our observations of the March 24 and March 26 flood events, respectively. It is a professional courtesy to keep quiet about it however.

The subrogation professionals will soon be out and about assessing the damage. Will they consider this flood an act of God? Will they seek a tortfeasor?

I truly feel for the business owners down here in the Village. I know some of these people suffering the damages these floods brought. Times are slow already, many commercial spaces are vacant due to the economy, and the busy season is still months away. Spring break brings customers by the thousands and many of these businesses may not even be able to open. I saw dozens of homeowners looking down from their second story windows and decks in disbelief. And those residents of the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park, well most of their patio furniture, decks, and other belongings are likely scattered somewhere along the beach right now. Hopefully these people can recover their losses.

Was this flood preventable? Perhaps yes, but that becomes a legal question because it implies blame, and blame may become the name of the game from here on out.

I realize Monday morning back at the office is going to be difficult. My heart goes out to everybody in the Village and up there in the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park. I'll see you all next week.

Cheers.
Clark E. Stoner

CFS Engineering is a civil engineering and land surveying firm located in Santa Cruz County, California. The firm is headed up by Clark E. Stoner, principal civil engineer and land surveyor for CFS Engineering. CFS Engineering's central office is located in Capitola Village, in the heart of Santa Cruz County.

March 26, 2011.
The sequence of the photos start down in Capitola Village and lead up to the source of the flood waters at the top of the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park and then back down again into the Village. The photos were taken at the peak of the storm event. Notice how the water is deeper upon returning back down the hill into the Village. Some photos are blurry because I could not keep my camera dry. And then suddenly the rain stopped.

Just above this mobile home is where the failure occurred.

This is the inlet where Noble Gulch stormwater flows go underground, about 200 feet above where the pipe failure occurred. On March 25 I visited this spot and noted the high water mark evidence in the area. It was higher than that shown here. A lot of evidence about the pipe failure can be gathered from this photo.

This is at the lower entrance to Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park, at the junction with Capitola Avenue. The remaining photos were taken walking back down into the Village. The flows were higher than when we walked up.

And finally we were on our way back to the beach to get some sandbags for our office. And boom, a landslide occurred on the bluff above the old theater. While checking out the slide, I looked out off shore and noticed the storm was about to break. And it did. And the sun came out before I left the office, mandatory evacuation due to a gas leak in the area.

The CFS Engineering office was fine, located directly behind the Free to Ride Surf Shop just above flood level. And for more photos check out Terry Way Photography.

Recent Santa Cruz Land Surveying Project -- Fairfield Inn Capitola

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:00:00 GMT

A new hotel is coming to Santa Cruz, well Capitola actually. The new Fairfield Inn is set to open summer 2011, all 84 rooms and 95,000 square feet of it.

CFS Engineering was selected by Slatter Construction, project manager and general contractor for owner Aspromonte Hospitality, for the $15 million project to provide pre-construction interdisciplinary document coordination services and construction layout and control surveying. CFS Engineering had to draw on both civil engineering and land surveying expertise to accomplish this objective.

The building footprint covers about 90 percent of the site, including the partial subterranean parking garage. The intricacy of the building foundation added to the complexity of fitting the building exactly to the surrounding terrain and ensuring that the requirements of all other disciplines were satisfied. The task required a thorough analysis of the architectural, civil, structural, and mechanical plans in order to identify and resolve all conflicts prior to construction layout. Relying on their civil engineering expertise and obtaining prior approval from each discipline, CFS Engineering made the necessary adjustments for each discipline to suit the governing structural plans. Armed with the assurance from their office, the CFS land surveyors then seamlessly laid out the building control for construction.

A good indication of a job well done is when you don't get any calls from the Contractor. And that was the case for CFS Engineering during this project. It reminds me of the old Herbert Hoover tribute to the profession of engineering:

"It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comfort of life. That is the engineer’s high privilege.

The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other professions is that his works are out in the open where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in hard substance. He cannot, like the architect, cover his failures with trees and vines. He cannot like the politician screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents and hope the people will forget. The engineer simply cannot deny he did it. If his works do not work he is damned.

On the other hand, unlike the doctor, his is not a life among the weak. Unlike the soldier, destruction is not his purpose. Unlike the lawyer, quarrels are not his daily bread. To the engineer falls the job of clothing the bare bones of science with life, comfort and hope. No doubt as years go by the people forget which engineer did it, even if they ever knew. Or some politician put his name on it. Or they credit it to some promoter who used other people’s money…

But the engineer himself looks back at the unending stream of goodness which flows from his success with satisfaction that few professions may know. And the verdict of his fellow professionals is all the accolade he wants."

And so another project is nearing completion with only a few minor details remaining to resolve. Looking ahead to the next one. Stay tuned.

Cheers!

Clark E. Stoner, PE, PLS
CFS Engineering

Some photos:

Just a hole in the ground at this point.

CFS Engineering is a civil engineering and land surveying firm located in Santa Cruz County, California. The firm is headed up by Clark E. Stoner, principal civil engineer and land surveyor for CFS Engineering. CFS Engineering's central office is located in Capitola, California, in the heart of Santa Cruz County.

The Fairfield Inn project is located in Capitola, California.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Haunted Castle Project 2009-2010

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 08:00:00 GMT

And so it was that the new Haunted Castle at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk opened just in time for the summer 2010 season thanks to our friends at Slatter Construction. CFS Engineering assisted Slatter Construction with adapting the architectural plans to reality, providing pre-construction interdisciplinary document coordination services and construction layout and control surveying.

The new Haunted Castle building is located on the beach at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River, within 50 feet of the famous Giant Dipper Roller Coaster, adjacent to existing buildings as well as an active railroad line. These constraints all together created some interesting challenges during foundation construction due to their respective proximity and the sandy nature of the ground itself. During foundation construction, CFS Engineering also monitored the adjacent structures and railroad line for movement due to concerns about potential excessive ground vibration and movement resulting from the pile driving operation. CFS Engineering was happy to report that movement was within tolerance.

Looking at these pictures reminds me of the smell of stale cotton candy and french fries during demolition of the old haunted house building. It was a fun project and I think everybody was more than happy with the outcome.

Looking forward to the next one.

Cheers!

Clark E. Stoner, PE, PLS
CFS Engineering

Here are a few pictures from our archives:

CFS Engineering is a civil engineering and land surveying firm located in Santa Cruz County, California. The firm is headed up by Clark E. Stoner, principal civil engineer and land surveyor for CFS Engineering. CFS Engineering's central office is located in Capitola, California, in the heart of Santa Cruz County.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Haunted Castle Project is located in the city of Santa Cruz, California.

The Surveyor's Role in California History - A Brief Study

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:42:00 GMT

It was first the Spanish and later Mexican governments who founded a network of Catholic missions, presidios, and pueblos and granted vast amounts of rancho lands to private individuals in their quest to settle present day California.

After signing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February, 1848, the Mexican government relinquished present day California to the United States and ended the Mexican-American War. In this Treaty, the United States respected the rights of Mexicans to pre-war land title claimed within the conquered territories. California was annexed into the United States on September 9, 1850. In order to confirm these pre-war private land claims, Congress in 1851 established the Board of Land Commissioners by virtue of an Act entitled, "An Act to Ascertain and Settle Private Land Claims in the State of California" and established the California State Surveyor-General's Office.

The burden of proof was placed upon the individuals seeking confirmation of their land claims, which proved to be a long and costly process (sometimes too long and cost prohibitive). Once private claims were confirmed, the courts ordered a survey of the lands to be performed at the expense of the claimant. Boundary descriptions for these land claims, missions, presidios, pueblos, and ranchos, were very difficult to ascertain due to unique units of measurement cited (such as a "smoke" - a unit of measurement defined as the the distance covered by a man on horseback while smoking an entire cigar), ambiguous calls to terrain features, conflicting calls, etc., and more often than not the boundaries had never been surveyed before.

The pre-war confirmed private land claims had to be surveyed before the U.S. Government could conduct their valuation surveys of the newly acquired territories, as these prior land claims were senior to the newly acquired lands and could not be sold by the U.S. Government to other private individuals. While the rancho boundaries were being surveyed, U.S. Government surveyors were establishing the basis for implementing the United States Public Land Surveys System (USPLSS). It was determined that California due to its size and terrain required three "initial points", the first being a monument set on the top of Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County in 1851, then on San Bernardino Mountain in San Bernardino County in 1852, and finally on Mt Pierce in Humboldt County in 1853. From these three initial points, Baselines and Meridians were established in cardinal directions. Standard parallels were then established north and south at 24-mile intervals parallel with the Baseline, and guide meridians were established east and west at 24-mile intervals, parallel to the Principal Meridian. Once these lines were established, unclaimed public lands were divided into six mile-square townships and then further subdivided into 36 one mile-square sections.

California upon being admitted to the Union acquired sovereign ownership and control of all navigable waters and underlying lands for the public trust, subject to Constitutional authority, for the protection of certain public uses - navigation, commerce and fisheries. These waters were incapable of private ownership. It happened that the prior Spanish and Mexican governments held similar views on navigable waters and had enacted similar limitations to private ownership of these waters. Navigable waters, and the determination thereof, also had to be quantified under the USPLSS.

Congress passed the Swamp and Overflow Lands Act of 1850, which provided a mechanism for transferring title of federally owned swamp and overflow lands to private parties, in California and other states, agreeing to drain these lands otherwise unfit for cultivation and turn them into agricultural lands and lands for other productive uses. These lands also required to be surveyed prior to the passage of title, and due to the confusion over what was considered swampland the Government surveyors were relied upon to make the designation and show these lands on their township maps.

Surveyors played a prominent role in California's history. Many land title problems that exist today trace their origins back to these rancho lands and how they interface with the USPLSS surveys. Countless land title problems also exist with lands bordering waters reserved for the public trust and lands determined, or not, to be swamp and/or overflow lands.

It is likely that your local land surveyor could trace the origins of your parcel of land all the way back to the original rancho or government surveys of the mid 1800s.

For more information on the establishment of California's missions, presidios, pueblos, and ranchos, follow this link:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/EART/rancho.html