Trabing Fire Victim, Travis Smith, spoke to the Board of Supervisors this morning about California Code 1099. The board ignored him. 

June 13, 2009

On June 9 County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors adopted ordinance amendments to agenda item 12 electing themselves commissioners of the local appeals board against advice of County Counsel Dana McRae. McRae advises even though the appeals board had been deleted by the Board of Supervisors on November 20, 2007 see ordinances 4894, 4893 to Title 12. 

Monte Sereno Family Prevails

Padgett Lawsuit - Darla and Joe Padgett and the City of Monte Sereno have been engaged in various lawsuits stemming from incidents relating to the Padgett's building their home in 1999. The city began with allegations of code violations and a too tall 6' wooden fence and the Padgett's claim, later proved, that a city employee had written them a threatening letter along with numerous other attempts by city officials to intimidate the family. September 2007, Monte Sereno's City Manager, Brian Loventhal, was found to have destroyed evidence and in June 2009 a jury found Mayor Curtis Wright violated the couple's civil rights and awarded the Padgetts $1 in compensatory damages, $200,000 in punitive damages and more than $4 million in attorney's fees - more than the City's entire annual budget. 

As more Santa Cruz County residents file suit against the County, Board of Supervisors and Planning Department, the county is going to find its coffers similarly affected. 

County Violates Permit Streamlining Act. June 24, 2008 Agenda Item 44

WATCH THE COUNTY AX AND ENTRAP THE BUILDING AND FIRE CODE BOARD OF APPEALS ON DVD COPIES. The legal basis claimed is flawed. The Supervisors established the appeals board, after concealing it for 48 years (since 1961), and established it under Health & Safety Code 17920.5 on November 25, 2008 - Agenda Item 39.1 in a 5:0 vote.  They appointed members to the appeals board on January 27, 2009 and then disbanded them using the same code 17920.5 on June 9, 2009.  You cannot disband an existing board correctly following State codes for their authority amongst major illegal interference from the County, especially Supervisors Ellen Pirie, Neil Coonerty, Director -Tom Burns, Ass't Director - David Lee, Chris Cheledon, Dana McRae and Rahn Garcia, County Counsel.  Absurd and unlawful.  Supervisor meetings and the Board of Appeals Commission DVD copies can be purchased for $20 at Community TV. They are located at 816 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831.425 .8848.

June 2nd the Supervisors Pirie and Leopold in a 5:0 vote axed the appeals board and on June 9th will do the final passage to deny due process to the citizens of Santa Cruz County.  Read more.

SUSAN MAURIELLO AND DANA McRAE AXE APPEALS BOARD WITH ELLEN PIRIE SECONDING THE MOTION BY LEOPOLD 
AND COUNTY COUNSEL RAHN GARCIA CITING MISINTERPRETATION OF LAW AND IGNORING INTENT. 
June 2, 2009 -  With complete disregard for higher California Building Code statute 108.8 the County unlawfully disbanded the new born Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals Commission misusing Health & Safety Code 17920.5 per agenda item 73.1. The County cannot disband a standing appeals board commission using this general statute.  CBC 108.8 has the force of law and is state mandated to be uniformly used by each county. Read Dan Bronson, Chair of BAFCAB, speech transcript of the true events that were orchestrated against BAFCAB. Read more.

TOM BURNS, DIRECTOR, ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS DISABLE VINCE LO FRANCO AFTER PROTEST SPEECH AT PUBLIC BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING TODAY.  SHERIFF CALLED AND CHARGES PRESSED. Sheriffs claim camera in hallway when there is no such surveillance camera in existance.  
July 1, 2009- No surveillance cameras confirmed in MidCounty Post article by Linda Friday. Perhaps LoFranco is correct about who assaulted who?  Read article.
June 27, 2009 - Update:  On KSCO interview today a party was told that another person stated Tom Burns allegedly assaulted him at a redevelopment agency meeting.
June 2, 2009 -  Does Tom Burns, uncertified, incompetent and known hot headed director of the Planning Dept., use physical abuse not just due process and redtag abuse on citizens?  Is the rumor true that Tom Burns and Jennifer Hutchinson are having an affair? Read more.


COUNTY CAO, SUPERVISORS COONERTY AND PIRIE ATTEMPTING TO GUT BUILDING APPEALS BOARD. COUNTY COUNSEL INCREASING THEIR LIABILITIES.  SUPERVISORS NOT QUALIFID.  SEE NEW AGENDA ITEM 73 AND 73.1 for public Board of Supervisor meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 9AM
May 29, 2009 - Read agenda #73.1 that places blame on the Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals Commission for the county's own errors and omissions and interference at the Commission meetings. Read more.

NEW YOUTUBE: SANTA CRUZ COUNTY CORRUPTION  
"Appealgate" knowledge is spreading throughout the State.
May 26, 2009 - The youtube exposes 33 years of hiding the citizen appeals board by the Board of Supervisors, Tom Burns' Planning Dept. and County Counsel led by CAO, Susan Mauriello.  Watch this important interview of the new Chair of the Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals Commission, Dan Bronson.  Read more.


COUNTY SUPERVISORS BREACH STATE REQUIREMENTS OF COUNTY STRUCTURE AND MANDATES TO FOLLOW STATE LAWS AND STATE CONSTITUTION.  Read the State structure and authority over Santa Cruz County.

California Government Code Establishes the Board of Supervisors. It is mandatory for BOS to respect State higher laws. Read Government Codes that hold Supervisors for neglect to perform duties or if they violate any law or fraudulently or corruptly perform any duty. 

Bureaucrats Scraping for Power -new website reveals inside communications exposing alleged fraud practices, unlawful red tape and redtags by uncertified and untrained County officials and staff.

May 19, 2009 - 
The Mulcahy appeal filed by prominent architect, Cove Britton, has been removed due to its written vagueness and invalid claims made by Jennifer Hutchinson and Sean Livingston, building inspectors. HCDand ICC have oversight for wrongful use of inspector licenses.  Read more.  

END THE ALLEGED ABUSIVE WHIMS AND DENIAL OF DUE PROCESS RIGHTS BY UNCERTIFIED COUNTY PERSONNEL 
The uncertified county staff are: Tom Burns, David Lee, Mark Deming, Dave Laughlin, Ken Hart, Don Bussey, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Jacob Rodriquez, Laura Madrigal, Kathleen Salazar, Paia Levine, Alice Daly, Dave Keyon, Victorial Rodriquez, Robin Bolster, Jessica DeGrassi,Antoinella Gentele, Matt Johnston, Glenda Hill, George Gigarjian,Stephania Francone and other code compliance personnel, and staff permit planners. Jennifer Hutchinson was the uncertified building official until certified October 11, 2008, after five months of citizen protests. The City of Santa Cruz understands staff must be certified and trained. Read more.
   
Read the Aptos Times potent article about this second meeting.

Important court cases upholding Supervisors and County cannot inflict unlawful ordinances on citizens as they breach higher laws:
Briseno v. City of Santa Ana
Leslie v Superior Court

Being charged excessive fees? 
Request an appeal.  See court cases against excessive fees.  
Also, see Court Cases tab.

Planning Dept. Organizational Chart is dysfunctional and 2009 Budget 60% Loss (see page three for $5 million  -  a 60% loss!)

STOP COUNTY PURSUIT OF COLLECTIVISM 

SEE CITIZEN COURT CASES v COUNTY of SANTA CRUZ

PRECEDENT COURT CASES PROTECT DUE PROCESS RIGHTS FOR PROPERTY OWNERS. 
COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ SUPERVISORS, CAO, PLANNING DEPT. AND COUNTY COUNSEL OPERATE WITH ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS UNLAWFUL TREATMENT.  Ignore Supreme Court case law, Constitutions, Federal and State higher laws, California Building Codes and personnel uncertified and untrained in their plan to coerce Collectivism.  Read the Attorney General's Opinions of other local governments caught for violating the law and read a precedent setting case, Leslie v. Superior Court , finding a  county was not following State law.  Santa Cruz County is doing the same.  Also, read this Grand Jury report showing county Supervisors and others hand dipping control into the planning department.  Notice that this June 28, 2007, Tom Burns document agenda item #28 that the Board of Supervisors went along with does not even mention an independent due process appeals board as per CBC 108.8 that is required by State codes that supercede local ordinances and the Health & Safety Codes. Read the document that link has been shut off by the county on their website.  We ran copies of all pertinent documents over a year ago, to protect them for all citizens, as the county begins to shred evidence as the uncovering of the web tightens about their "alleged" corrupt schemes.

CITIZENS STRIKE BACK.
April 25, 2009 - The Board of Supervisors, CAO, County Counsel, and Planning Dept. mismanaged by  uncertified director, Tom Burns, are unlawfully continuing to deny property owners due process and continuing again to ignore higher laws.  Here is the Administrative Hearing Calendar for Code Compliance for April 2009.  Why are these property owners still being herded through an internal planning department personnel hearing rather than the Building and Fire Code Board of Appeals Commission?  See Hot News - 2009 for Administrative Hearing Calendars for November 2007 to July 2009.  All of these citizens were deprived their State and Federal Constitutional rights to due process with an independent appeals board that is required by State laws. Tom Burns business model does not work. Look at his actual and proposed budgets.  He costs the county multi-millions of dollars each year being in the red.  See page 28-1 (3 of 33) for 2005- 2008 chart.

FIRST BUILDING APPEALS BOARD MEETING STUNS COUNTY.
March 16, 2009 - Citizens prevail over County's corrupt practices. Tom Burns reigned in as unqualified and unlawful. See the bylaws Burns tried to push onto the appeals board but were rejected as they do not reflect State mandated laws. Read more.

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ VIOLATES CITIZENS' RIGHTS FOR 
33 YEARS CONCEALING APPEALS BOARDS.
On March 16, 2009, at 7PM, 5th Floor of County Building, will
be the first ever legally held Building and Fire Code Appeals Board meeting open to the public.  Please attend and record the meeting.Read more. 

INVESTIGATION REVEALS HUGE SCANDALS: 

ELLEN PIRIE AND TERRY HANCOCK NEPOTISM AND "APPEALGATE" SERIOUSLY VIOLATE STATE, FEDERAL CODES/ETHICS and CONSTITUTIONS.   
Appealgate - the County has hidden the appeals boards obstructing property owners due process civil rights for 33 years - yes - since 1976 - see establishment documents.  Read more.

County Snitch System is Discriminatory. China and the KGB operate with snitches.
Have they also violated Government Code  1027 for their unlawful red tag "snitch" complaint system?  Government Code 1027 was effective until March 24, 2008, repealed by SB 1322.  This code is usable for county mistreatment of citizens up until this date due to the "snitch system" Tom Burns, Ellen Pirie, Ken Hart impose.

THE STATE INTERNATIONAL CODE COUNCIL (ICC) REQUIRES CERTIFICATION OF BUILDING OFFICIALS, BUILDING INSPECTORS AND PLAN EXAMINERS.  TRAINING, EXAMS AND CERTIFICATION EXIST FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT INSPECTORS/OFFICERS.   SANTA CRUZ PERSONNEL ARE NOT CERTIFIED BY ICC OR CACEO AS OFFERED.  NEGLIGENT HIRING AND TRAINING ADDS TO CITIZENS CONSTITUTIONAL DEPRIVATIONS.

January 13, 2009

January 13, 2009 - Mike McDougall, Personnel Manager and Laurie Hill, Commission Staff,  mislead and pulled a fast one on the Civil Service Commission with nameless certification titles of expired or transferred personnel as current certified building inspector employees.  Jack Gordon, Chair of the Commission, Judy Jones, Robert Taren, Olivia Madrigal did not thoroughly review.  The public requested at the last and current meeting that all planning dept. staff be audited for state mandated certification.  McDougall and Hill contained their information to nameless individuals for only inspectors, disregarding a request for the entire dept. The department staff names are known and researched with the ICC in charge of licensing - they are not certified except for two people kept under Tom Burns'micro-management, Jennifer Hutchinson certified October 11, 2008 and Sean Livingston, Building Inspector.  Tom Burns remains uncertified which is required prior to hiring per Health & Safety code 18949.25 and 19870 for code enforcement and construction/building inspectors/officials.   City of Santa Cruz understands staff need to be certified and trained.  Read City of Santa Cruz budget meeting for certification and training per State law.

READ REST OF HOME PAGE: INVESTIGATION REVEALS HUGE SCANDALS, VIOLATION OF STATE, FEDERAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAWS, COVERUP AND NONCERTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL REQUIRED BY LAW.
Documents by county not binding or valid by uncertified and untrained staff ignoring State, Federal, Constitutional law and State mandated building standards and codes.
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