In the eye of the beholder

Stefanie Frith

CORONA DEL MAR -- It all started with some palm trees.

Weeks ago, Martin Cisek, who owns a home on the bluff at Ocean and

Goldenrod avenues in Old Corona del Mar, began to trim overgrown king

palm trees and tear out grass from a small piece of public land above his

home, replacing them with tiny shrubs and flowers.

Before too long, a few neighbors began to complain, and they took

their concerns to Newport Beach City Hall.

Now, Cisek may have to rip out the shrubs and flowers and replace them

with grass because his landscaping discourages public use of the land,

said David Niederhaus, general services manager for the city.

If Cisek doesn’t remove it, Niederhaus said he will do it himself.

“We don’t want it to come down to that, but he has overstepped his

bounds,” Niederhaus said. “We are depending on his cooperation. But if he

doesn’t remove it, then we will give him a 10-day notice. And if he

doesn’t take them out, I will.”

Cisek already has been cited once for not having the proper

encroachment permit, which allows residents to landscape public property.

Niederhaus said Cisek began landscaping without the permit and was cited

by the city. Cisek has since paid the $100 fine and submitted his plans

to Niederhaus, who said he processed them and sent them back with clear

restrictions, such as not planting tall shrubs.

Permission granted?

The incident has caused at least one council member to rethink the way

that encroachment permits are handled.

Councilman Dennis O’Neil, whose district includes the Corona del Mar

bluff, said he is considering bringing the matter up with his council

colleagues. He said cases such as this come up at least three times a

month.

“This is a beautiful area, and we don’t want to discourage public

use,” O’Neil said. “And it seems that people don’t know that they need

these permits. We may need to reexamine what the policy is and how much

work people can do and what we want to do. We want to make sure the area

is protected.”

Cisek said he didn’t know he had to get a permit to landscape the

public land, adding that because he is taking care of the area and,

therefore, saving the city money, there shouldn’t even be an issue.

“I don’t have to do this,” said Cisek, who has lived on the bluff for

almost two years. “But I had an arborist come out and trim the trees so

there wouldn’t be rats and disease. If you look at the trees at Fashion

Island, you will see that this is how they are supposed to be cut. And,

as for the picnic area, there is still room for that. That area is still

here.”

Robert Walchli, who lives around the corner from Cisek, said the

trees should be kept the same to preserve the charm of Old Corona del

Mar.

Walchli is so upset about Cisek’s landscaping that last week he argued

with Cisek and the argument had to be broken up by Cisek’s landscaper.

He yelled in Cisek’s face a slew of angry comments, such as: “What are

you doing to the trees? Just leave them alone.”

After the argument, Walchli stomped up the hill to his house.

“If we wanted to live in Newport Coast with the fancy trees, we

would,” Walchli said after the argument, glancing angrily at Cisek’s

home. “That’s our land, our grass and dirt. He just tore it all out

without a public hearing or permit. He just wants to put in those shrubs

to block off his home. He’s taking over public area for his own use.”

Walchli also said that if Cisek continues to put in shrubs, those

shrubs could grow up to be so tall that views from homes behind Cisek’s

will be lost.

Rock McAllister, who also lives around the corner from Cisek’s home,

is also upset about what Cisek has been calling an effort to beautify the

public areas.

“If he controls that area, he will continue to do what he wants,” he

said. “That’s not fair. [My family and I] tried to put up a little fence

once and were told we couldn’t. This guy will just continue to get

ordinances to do what he wants.”

A clear view

Not all of the nearby neighbors think Cisek is trying to take over

public land for his own use.

Susan Phillips, who lives across the street from Cisek, said as long

as Cisek doesn’t block her view, he can do anything he wants.

“He is actually improving the look of the area,” she said, watching

the remodeling at Cisek’s home, which has been going on since the summer

months, from her living room window.

“He has helped the longevity of these trees [by trimming them] and has

improved my view too by getting rid of those long bristles on them. He’s

a good guy and wouldn’t do something shadily.”

Another neighbor, Helga Pralle, said she was inspired by Cisek’s

landscaping to do some work of her own.

“When he trimmed his trees, they looked so good that mine looked

overgrown and I wanted mine to look as good as his,” Pralle said, as

arborists contracted by the city of Newport Beach worked on her trees.

“He paid for his trees to be trimmed and so am I, and he has improved the

look.”

But improving the look is not the point, said Walchli’s mother, Jean

Bruton, who said Cisek has ruined the charm of Old Corona del Mar.

Bruton added she is the oldest resident in the area, and Cisek

shouldn’t take over the public land.

“He has even added lights to one of his trees. It’s not Christmas,

it’s not Disneyland,” she said bitterly. “He’s taken over the whole area

where picnickers would come and enjoy champagne and the old trees.”

Cisek said he laughs at these comments and tries to ignore people such

as Bruton when they come by to yell at him.

“It’s funny. You know, people aren’t even supposed to drink on public

property. So I don’t know about all that champagne stuff,” Cisek said.

Pralle agrees.

“First, I rarely see people picnicking this far up on the street. They

usually do that around the corner,” she said. “And second, I like the

lights in the tree. They are pretty, and this street is so dark in the

first place that it’s probably safer now too.”

Niederhaus said that while it is a problem that Cisek has cut into

public property with his shrubs and flowers, some of Cisek’s neighbors

perhaps have taken their complaints too far.

“Even if a twig is missing, these people get upset,” he said. “In this

case though, the homeowner has overstepped his bounds, and he will be

asked to make changes. And in the end, the city will prevail. It was

presumptuous on his part to think he could do this.”