There Goes The Neighborhood!
I don't know if you remember, but back a few posts ago...(well, no doubt it's more than a few)...but anyway, I talked about "construction" happening up the street from me....I think I showed a picture of a fence around nothing, with sand bags, and said I believed that something was actually happening up there on the crest of this property. (I'm posting that same photograph at the end of this post just for contrast here...) Well, something is definitely happening...and the other day when I walked up the hill a bit, there were about a dozen men working on this place...machinery is up there digging up and digging out, if you know what I mean. And with construction comes noise, dirt, and strangers who don't care about 'the neighborhood' and this will no doubt go on for a very long long long long long long time...like I said, there goes the neighborhood...but....Maybe not. (Well let's face it...for now, it's a mess..) Maybe, when they get all done in three or four years it will be a lovely home...But for now...this is what we have here.
You can't see the house in this picture, but it is there and I took a photo of it from down the street just a little bit from the construction and believe me, that property is right above this property...Here is that photo that I took a couple of weeks ago.
And just to the left of the photograph above, is this, (down below) where just to the left of THIS photo of the Deco property, and below it of course, is that beautiful lovely gorgeous construction...
So, we have to live through the constant work people parking their personal cars (trucks, actually...) on the street making it very difficult for two cars to go through these curved hilly streets at the same time...along with 'the jaws of dirt'...like here...
Doesn't it look like that mountain could just collapse??? Scary. If I were the people who lived in that Deco House I might be a tad concerned, you know? Because the hill that this home is being built on sort of surrounds the lower part of the Deco House's property and one wonders if the integrity of the 'hill' is at risk...One year, when we had ferocious rains, there was a mud slide from the Deco house's property that came down and literally went into the living room of the house below it across the street from the slide! OY! So, the neighborhood could be floating down the street if there are some really heavy heavy rains...like I said...there goes the neighborhood....(Oh No!)
And this photo above? Well, this was just a minor slippage which can and does happen in the mildest of rains (which is what caused this slide)...see all that decomposing granite? That is the composition of this whole hill that we all live on....including where they are building that 'new' home. So here is what it looked like that day I first saw the sand bags and the then new fence that now surronds this property. It was clean then...
And here it is, as of a few days ago...Progress, it's wonderful.
But the truth is, in many ways progess is wonderful. Only time will tell about this particular reach for progress and it's wonderfullness...Only time will tell if this will be a beautiful house or an eyesore...I pray for the former as I know the neighbors who must live through this endless noisy dirty construction pray, too....
More to come, as always...
- had this to say:
You've got some great progress pictures. What a pity about the beautiful mountain. New flats are being built opposite, and I have taken progress pics as well.
Michele sent me here.- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 2:35:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I'm pretty amazed that they can build anything on that hillside....
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 3:13:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I've always wondered how they could build on the shifting hillsides like that. There really isn't a way to get the home anchored so that slides don't affect them is there? And what about earth quakes? That would be nerve wracking for both the homes above and below.
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 4:09:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I've never understood why folks want to build on a *hilltop* like that. Sure the view is great and the air crisp. I bet the ride down during a mudslide is fun too. No thank you. Higher ground may be nice, but I am sticking to the valleys with my feet firmly on the ground!!
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 5:40:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I suppose it could be anchored to the bedrock by driving in piles
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 7:50:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I was thinking the same thing about the danger of building on such a steep hill, but what do I know?!
One thing I do know is that you live in a beautiful area. Here in the "flatlands," we don't have anything nearly as exciting!
Here via Michele's. Hope you're doing well!- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 7:52:00 AM PST
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had this to say:
Michele sent me...
I have to say, that definitely would NOT be my first choice on where to build a house!- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 8:07:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Your area is similar to parts of my home town (hilly and winding streets) and I have always been amazed at how they can build a home on what looks like a straight-up and down hill.
Thanks for missing me, Naomi. I am trying to get over the flu and I have no energy to sit here at the keyboard right now. I might post something later. If so, I'll let you know.- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 10:08:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Is it a home they're building? Perhaps it's some sort of retention wall?
I know how you feel though. We have a small parcel of land across from us that is currently a wooded lot. It has, however, been sold for development. We'll soon be looking at a house. I've always liked that wooded lot. It was one of the big attractors to moving here. Even though we're in the heart of suburbia with neighbors on each side, I could feel more removed by staring at that vacant space out my window. Not for much longer, I suppose.- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 10:21:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
A few years ago, back when I was a working journalist, I had the misfortune of working on a story where several homes slid into a river valley. It was partially due to a lot of rain, and partially because of the instability of the soil along the cliff side. I will never forget those families pain. Makes me wonder why people choose to house themselves precariously...
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 10:38:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Naomi, I finally put up a small post.
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 11:11:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
I don't think I would want to live in a house like that. They pretty much built them anywhere anymore though! I, too, would be afraid of mudslides.
I'm sure when they are finished and all the muck and mud is cleared away that it will be an awesome sight! I hope you do keep us posted on how it turns out!- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 2:57:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
I'd be slightly nervous if I lived in that house above where they are digging!!! YIKES! It amazes me how they build on the side of the mountain like that!
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 4:14:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
well, when they have finished there will be another beautiful home, adn hopefully good nieghbors :)
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 5:35:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
I'm with you...I sure hope they know what they're doing!
- Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 8:54:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
Your story and the pictures you shared reminded me of a tragic event a few years ago. In one of the cities near my place, a similar construction also created a very beautiful village which sold like hotcakes because of it's fantastic view. Little did anyone know that this village will later on become haunted. A year later, during a heavy rainfall, the unfinished upper portion of the mountain came rushing through the houses below it. The landslide buried thousands of families. This I hope has made land developers more careful about the structural safety of the neighborhood rather than just beauty.
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 2:25:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Progress is beautiful and wonderful but sometimes it's destructive. If you heard about the news here in our Country, there was a landslide that caused death to many including children. This was progress they say.
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 5:48:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Let's hope for a wonderful work of architecture...keep us posted!
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 7:03:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Are there no planning regs that allow for the plans for any building to be available for public viewing so that these poor neighbours can see what they are going to get and indeed protest before the event if the building is unsuitable?
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 7:18:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Hi, Naomi. Michele sent me today. I am feeling a lot better, and I have a new post. See you later.
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 10:50:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Thank you for the visual lesson on how landslides occur. Hopefully the mountain will maintain its integrity despite the meddling. *sigh*
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 3:16:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
Did you say 3 or 4 years?Extreme Home Makeover is putting one up in a week just up thstreet. Of course they didn't ave to carve out a mountain.
- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 6:19:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
That's awful! I can't even believe they can build on such a steep slope. But, at least it's only ONE house, right? Around here they are slapping up houses like crazy, we are the fastest growing area in the state, possibly in the country, too.
The new thing here, (in some areas)to make affordable housing, (and to squish in more houses per acre and make the developer more money, I assume) is "Zero lot line". The houses are really close together and you get a really small yard. Ugh. Why not just buy a condo or a duplex?- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 7:06:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
I would be feeling a little bit insecure if I was directly under that.
Hopefully there will not be any major storms anytime soon!!- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 8:45:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
yikes... i hope they really anchor that foundation.
thanks for popping by my place today!- Monday, March 27, 2006 at 10:26:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
It's amazing that some architect can built a house on hillside. I agree with Yellowrose, I'd be nervous also, if I lived in that house above where they are digging!
Anyway, your neighborhood is very beautiful, Naomi! Love these photos and you are a great reporter!- Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 5:25:00 AM PST
- had this to say:
Great pictures of events. I know the frustration of living in a neighborhood where construction is ongoing, we had construction of houses going on in both lots immediately next to our house some time back and that was just in a flat neighborhood and thus over in a few months. I hope it ends up as a beautiful addition to your neighborhood and the inconvenience and ugliness of construction is minimized as much as possible.
- Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 1:22:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
It amazes me, living here in SoCal like you, that the local news calls it "Storm Watch". Have we ever had a storm? We get rain, plain and simple. Guess they need the drama. lol.
- Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 9:05:00 PM PST
- had this to say:
Something tell me that humans think that they'll always prevail over nature. Something also tells me that they are sadly mistaken: at some point, they'd be better off finding some other place to live.
Progress isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. But when municipalities and counties see tax dollars coming in, it's not too difficult for them to tweak zoning laws to allow things that logic would term unwise.
May your neighborhood return to a peaceful state soon. May all who live there never have to incur nature's and gravity's realities.- Sunday, April 9, 2006 at 2:54:00 AM PDT
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