Irvine Ca Ordinances

In a city where similarity is part of the master plan, the house at 4822 Kron St. sticks out like a sore home. Neighbors call it the "Kron Street Castle," and their reasons seem clear. It has turrets. Turrets are rare in Irvine, where neighborhood associations become dyspeptic over so much as an oversized mailbox. It has a moat, or at least a dirt front yard that fills with mud when it rains.

The FBI considers Irvine one of the nation's safest cities, a master-planned community where nagging issues range from lawn maintenance to the early morning howl of leaf blowers. But there's a new debate in town: gun control. Civic leaders have been presented with a proposal that would be among the toughest gun laws in the state, making it nearly impossible for new retailers to sell firearms. All in a city where gun violence is minimal.

City officials threatened to demolish it because it was a hazard to safety. Neighbors complained repeatedly to have it removed. The owner of a strip club once offered the services of his topless dancers to prevent its demolition. Now, after 15 years of renovation and legal battles, the "Kron Street Castle" has been completed as far as the city is concerned. At least, technically. Not everyone would agree that the house really is finished. Even on a good day, neighbors call it an eyesore.

Irvine may join a handful of California cities that have passed controversial campaign and ethics rules intended to prevent elected city officials from using their offices to enrich themselves. The proposed ordinance would restrict officials from accepting campaign donations, gifts or jobs from anyone with a major municipal contract or project that required a City Council vote.

An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that one man's castle may still be his home, granting Haym Ganish's request for a temporary injunction to block the city's planned Nov. 10 demolition of his castle-like dwelling. After 12 years of alternately remodeling his home and battling city officials, Ganish won a reprieve from the impending destruction of what his neighbors call the "Kron Street castle." Judge Nancy Wieben Stock ordered both Ganish and the city to return to court Nov.

Haym and Fern Ganish turned in plans for completion of their castle-like house Tuesday, just a few minutes before the latest deadline granted to the family was to expire. The city has been given authority by Superior Court to tear down the house if the couple does not comply with city requirements. The city has been at odds with the Ganishes for 13 years over the transformation of their Kron Street house into a stone castle.

Haym and Fern Ganish met with city officials for more than two hours Friday afternoon seeking a compromise to save their castle-like home from the wrecking ball, but the outcome of the meeting was not disclosed. Irvine Mayor Michael Ward said the city has agreed to a request made by the Ganishes to not comment on the discussions. Fern Ganish also declined comment but said she did not anticipate another meeting with city officials.

A last-second compromise Friday night saved the Kron Street Castle, an architecturally unusual house that city officials were poised to destroy after a 10-year dispute with its owners. Mark Bailey, owner of a Lake Forest topless club called Captain Creams, said he saw a cause where others saw only a half-built castle, so he provided the $65,000 needed to bring it up to code. "It's done," said Bailey, standing before the house with his wife, just hours before the owners were to be evicted.

A 12-year battle over the never-ending remodeling of an Irvine home into a rock-covered baroque castle finally could be over after an Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday refused to block the city from demolishing the house. An attorney representing the city said plans to demolish the three-story home, dubbed the "Kron Street Castle" by neighbors, probably will go before the City Council for final approval.

The city's plans to demolish the castle-like home belonging to Haym and Fern Ganish on Tuesday are again on hold. An Orange County Superior Court commissioner on Wednesday set a Jan. 18 date to hear an appeal by Fern Ganish. She is seeking more time to comply with city deadlines for completion of what is now a 12-year remodeling job. "She wants to save the house," said attorney John Barthrop. "The problem is, the family doesn't have the money to finish it by hiring a contractor.

Irvine may join a handful of California cities that have passed controversial campaign and ethics rules intended to prevent elected city officials from using their office to enrich themselves. The proposed ordinance would restrict elected officials from accepting campaign donations, gifts or jobs from anyone with a major municipal contract or project that required a City Council vote.

City Council members voted 3 to 2 to adopt an ordinance putting into effect a new state law that encourages residents to neuter their pets. The new law calls for dog and cat owners who have not sterilized their pets to be fined $35 or more when they reclaim their pet from the shelter. The fine increases to $50 for the second occurrence and to $100 for three or more offenses. Owners are already charged a $30 impound fee and $10-a-night board charge.

IRVINE Despite new hefty fines on false alarms, Irvine's estimated 15,000 alarm owners are still setting off sirens by mistake. Police officers have responded to the same number of false alarms since a new ordinance that raised the stakes went into effect Oct. 1. Part of the new code mandates that alarm owners file a permit application with the department.

The City Council has declared a castle-style home in the Ranch village a public nuisance and threatened to order it demolished if the owners don't finish their long-running remodeling project within four months. The decision caps more than a decade of debate and litigation over the Kron Street home, which has been under construction for more than 12 years.

Pick up trash in Irvine and you might get a police citation, as 70-year-old Nikolaj Grinenko did earlier this month. Or you might get a commendation from the city manager and an audience with the chief of police, as Grinenko did this week. Grinenko, a retiree who often picks up trash in his neighborhood, was arrested March 5 as he walked along Yale Avenue with a bag of bottles and cans he had collected from a nearby park.