May 15 2008 9:31AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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What's the deal with Sacramento? I realize it's only one of many hard-hit housing markets, but lately I get the impression that builders in that city are particularly stressed.

In the past two months, I've read about the collapse of Dunmore Homes, a 55-year-old family business, and builders who are millions of dollars behind in their property tax payments. A few days ago, I received an email from California's State Water Resources Control Board about Shea Homes. The company illegally discharged dairy wastewater containing manure from a development site into a storm drain leading to the San Jacinto River. The discharge was exacerbated by an explosion at the site, which occurred when the contractor struck a pressurized natural gas line. (See photo at www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/announcements/docs/peoplevsheahomes.pdf.) Shea was  fined $300,000 and ordered to publish an article in a trade magazine about the importance of pollution prevention plans and the special control measures that should be implemented to address dairy wastes during the development of former dairy facilities.

Before filing for bankruptcy, the Dunmores were plagued by family feuds and lawsuits worthy of a soap opera. (Read the Sacramento Bee article: www.sacbee.com/103/875703.html.) They're blaming their problems on the economy; so are the builders with the late tax payments. But clearly, someone dropped the ball at Shea -- not good press for an ever-greening industry and a state that prides itself on environmental leadership.