State board finds fault with Saggio Hills geology study

<p>A state regulatory board issued a scathing report and ordered a geologist to pay a fine for his work on Saggio Hills, the controversial luxury resort and housing development proposal north of Healdsburg.</p><p>The Board of Geologists and Geophysicists cited William McCormick of Windsor for what it described as “professional negligence, incompetence and or/misrepresentation” in certifying a report on the Saggio Hills site.</p><p>McCormick disputed the board’s conclusions and said he intends to appeal the ruling.</p><p>“In 23 years, I’ve never had a single complaint against me, or one of my projects,” said McCormick, 48, who does peer geologic reviews for the counties of Sonoma and Mendocino, as well as the City of Santa Rosa.</p><p>The state board’s citation and $2,500 fine issued April 29 said his report on Saggio Hills contained incomplete and inaccurate geologic cross sections, and among other things failed to accurately identify seismic fault hazards, and past and future landslides.</p><p>But McCormick said the state board misunderstood the purpose of his preliminary feasibility study, which was for planning purposes, not site-specific analyses.</p><p>Healdsburg officials downplayed the significance of the state board’s action, saying the city drew on a number of other geologic studies prior to approving Saggio Hills, not just the work McCormick did for the developers.</p><p>And City Manager Marjie Pettus said before any construction occurs, there is a requirement for much more detailed geologic studies.</p><p>“It will be looked at comprehensively each time there is going to be a parcel designated for construction, whether a house or resort,” she said.</p><p>Pettus predicted Saggio Hills will be built despite the current housing slump and a lawsuit filed against it.</p><p>The project — 130-room resort, 70 high-end homes and some affordable housing on 254 acres — was approved last October by the City Council after a marathon series of public meetings. But work has been stalled by the lawsuit challenging the environmental studies. A hearing is scheduled for a July 17 in Sonoma County Superior Court.</p><p>The lawsuit filed by Healdsburg Citizens for Sustainable Solutions focuses on other environmental issues, however, such as allegations the city failed to adequately analyze the impact on water supply and greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>The challenge to the geologic studies was spurred by Jim Winston, a Healdsburg area resident and retired home builder who opposes Saggio Hills.</p><p>“I think it’s out of scale for Healdsburg,” said Winston, who claims the city was overly eager to approve Saggio Hills because of the millions of dollars in bed taxes that it could generate.</p><p>Developers also agreed to provide 36 acres for a community park, build a new fire substation and donate and grade 14 acres for an affordable housing site.</p><p>Winston hired his own geologist who was critical of the work done by McCormick on the Saggio site. More recently he took his complaint to the state board, which agreed McCormick’s geologic and geotechnical investigation on Saggio Hills was flawed.</p><p>Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for state Department of Consumer Affairs, said the board for geologists and geophysicists regulates more than 7,700 licensees. In the past fiscal year, he said 11 citations with fines were issued.</p><p>D. Scott Magorien, the principal engineering geologist for the state board, concluded “there are a number of inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the report certified by Mr. McCormick that constitute negligence and or incompetence, specifically as it relates to presentation of basic geologic data, geologic interpretations, public safety and geologic hazards associated with slope stability and active faulting, and exposure to naturally occurring asbestos materials.”</p><p>He also said the geologists who were part of Healdsburg’s peer review of McCormick’s work should have disqualified themselves, because they both had performed geologic and geotechnical work associated with affordable housing for the Saggio Hill site in 2003.</p><p>Winston contends that the state board’s findings put the city at risk. “They are basically on the hook if things start happening there,” he said. “The science wasn’t right.”</p><p>But Healdsburg Planning Director Rick Tooker said McCormick’s report was one of a half-dozen geologic reports that were evaluated for Saggio Hills. City officials said that before building permits are issued there will be foundation, lateral support and slope stability analyses, along with grading, retaining wall, drainage and erosion control requirements.</p><p>“The city is very thoughtful and very complete in its approach to dealing with geotechnical issues,” Tooker said.</p>