Llusha

BACKGROUND

In 2018, the planning commission approved Maddox’s plans to demolish and replace his family’s existing home on a small, steeply sloped property on Ridge Avenue. To support a necessary new septic system, the permit authorized a four-foot high retaining wall along Maddox’s rear property line with Llusha, which would replace an existing solid four-foot high wood fence between the parcels. The septic permit expired before Maddox began the work, but in the spring of 2020, with the system starting to show unpleasant signs of failing, Maddox successfully applied to the County’s environmental health services department to reinstate it. The validity of the reinstated septic permit is not at issue.

As work on the new system got underway, Maddox’s septic engineer determined it would be necessary to increase the retaining wall’s height by 15 inches along its southernmost 10 feet. Accordingly, Maddox applied for design review approval of the change. So amended, the permit would authorize an approximately 35-foot long retaining wall, backfilled to incorporate the septic system into the hillside and topped with a four-foot high, see-through hog wire fence. Its tallest section would…