SoCal Land -> home question about grading already done
MaxF
| Posted in Code Questions on
I’m interested in purchasing some land in SoCal that I hope to build a home on.
My question is kind of complicated…
The land I’m looking at has some general grading that has been done to the mountainside.
NONE of the grading work was permitted. It looks like it was done several years ago… (2-3ish). The work doesn’t show up on google earth / maps. It also doesn’t show up in the most recent aerial photos of the land done for tax purposes (I can see them online 3x about every 10 years or so).
If I purchased the land, am I responsible for the illegal work that was done prior to buying it? There is no foundation, no trenching etc… Just hillside grading.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Replies
The potential problem is that anything that comes off the land, as in mud or water, that impacts a land or home owner below the property will be able to sue you for the damage. So it comes down to the cost to fix any defects introduced by the grading.
Most likely the county or city will require a new grading plan prior to building on the site and if you adhere to the new plan you should be OK. With the grading plan there is the inclusion of whatever mitigation work will be done to minimize water run-off and other problems while construction is in progress.