info on environmental hazards, toxic waste, landfills in and around Irvine?

[RLTB0809_IHB]

Hello-



I?ve been reading this site regularly for the past year or so and have found it invaluable. Thank you all for excellent posts! We have plans to buy a new or relatively new home in late 08 or 09. One concern I have is proximity to environmental hazards, such as landfills and other potential toxic waste. I know you could go crazy trying to avoid pollution/toxins in an urban/developed area like the OC, so I am not unrealistic. I?m just trying to gather data to make an informed decision and trying to avoid major problems--like buying a home on an old weapons testing field or an old 1950s chemical dump!



It seems like if you want to live in Irvine in a new home there are a lot of environmental decisions to make since every new development has its own problems. I know VoC is near a huge trash pile, Portola Springs is near a landfill, and Woodbury is next to the El Toro airfield. For Woodbury (and Oak Creek), there also appears to be a Hazardous Waste facility on Oak Creek off of Sand Canyon (is this true?):



6411 Oak Cyn

Irvine, CA 92618

(714) 834-4000

oclandfills.com?



So here are my questions:



If you had to rank the villages in Irvine on environmental concerns alone, which ones would be your top 5 places to consider?

Are there any new or relatively new developments in or near Irvine that are not near (or farther away from) environmental hazards, landfills, etc? What about- Quail Hill, Turtle Rock, University Park, Northwood, or Northpark areas?



I believe that when you buy a home you get a disclosure form for the environmental risks for the area. I asked a sales rep in Portola Springs for this form and she said they couldn?t give this to me, unless I bought a home.

Does anyone have a copy of the environmental disclosures form that accompanies your purchase of a new home in Irvine that you could share?

Is this a standard disclosure (i.e., boilerplate language based on state law) or is it specific to the village/area (e.g., is the disclosure for Portola Springs different than the one for Woodbury and VoC?)

Any advice/tips on where I can do more research on this topic?



Sorry for the million questions on this topic and thank you all in advance for any info!



RLTB0809

 

[IrvineRealtor_IHB]

With any purchase you should receive (seller should pay for) a Natural Hazards Disclosure statement. Two companies that provide this are <a href="http://65.200.65.79/services.htm">LGS </a>and <a href="http://www.propertyid.com/platinum/default.asp">Property ID</a>.



LGS is less expensive and effectively the same information, if you end up paying for it yourself.



They go into detail on not just the landfill issues, but also flight patterns, flood zoning, seizmic activity, zoning restrictions, and much more. It will be specific to the APN, but you should be given access to a general disclosure record for any reputable builder in the area.

 

[EvaLSeraphim_IHB]

The "hazardous waste facility" on Oak Canyon is merely a convenient drop off for household hazardous waste only (e.g., TVs, batteries, paint, household cleaners, etc.). The items dropped off there are taken someplace else to be disposed of. That's one I wouldn't worry about.

 

[OCCOBRA_IHB]

With selling New Homes for the last 16 years there is an acknowledgment of disclosure that a builder will use to disclose everything under the sun, usually 45 pages or so and it would be in there but the builder does not have give you a copy as they use a public report to disclose. If they are a good agent they may give you a copy of this as well, I did this because i wanted people to do their homework before they buy so they felt more comfortable and got all their questions answered before they did the paperwork. The Natural Hazard disclosure will only talk about natural hazards (Fire threat, flooding, earthquakes, fire ants etc...) By law you can go into any New Home office and ask for a copy of the Final Public Report issued by the Department of Real Estate (DRE) and they have to provide a copy for you as a prospective buyer, If the project is on county land they may not have a final public report because it may not be required. Of the 16 years i think i was asked 3 or 4 times for one so you may stump the agent if you ask. If someone wanted a copy of that i would always give them one, I think the agent you where working with was not sure what to do so decided not to give you anything. Give the agent a chance to provide this for you, if not then get the sales managers name and number and maybe they can help. The public report is recorded at the county seat so if you get the tract # you could get it there but you may have to pay for it. You can always call the DRE and they can help you as they are they to help consumers if builder is not working with you to provide this report. One last thing make sure it is the "White Report" that is the final one but they may not have one if they are new project. They may only be on a "Pink" report in the beginning (Only taking reservation Deposits) or a "Yellow Report" which has almost everything and they can do a contract on a yellow (and will have that info your looking for in there) and ultimately you will get a copy of the white when it comes in but the info usually does not change from yellow to white. A good agent will help you get all this info if you ask for it or at least get back to you to help you get it.