Ross arrives at tab for fixing disputed sinkhole

Ross has spent nearly $50,000 to fill a sinkhole that set off a litigation battle between the town and a resident.

The Town Council voted 3-1 to confirm the final bill — $49,500 — at a nuisance abatement cost confirmation hearing on April 3.

The sinkhole appeared in 2023 at 61 Shady Lane, the home of Terry Pickett. The town told Pickett it’s his responsibility to fix the hole. Pickett has argued it is the town’s problem.

“We went back and forth with the property owner on those facts, tried to explain to him, show him diagrams, show him that it is in fact in his property,” Public Works Director Richard Simonitch said.

The Town Council eventually adopted a resolution telling staff to repair the sinkhole and record the expense. The costs include consultant fees and expenses for site inspections, reports and recommendations; town staff time; and work to abate the sinkhole.

Simonitch said the cost does not include attorney fees.

Pickett filed a lawsuit in August 2023, claiming the sinkhole was caused by the town’s stormwater drainage system. The lawsuit was filed before town staff could abate the sinkhole, according to a staff report.

Ross countersued in February 2024 and sought a motion for an abatement order and warrant in August. The motion was granted in October, and the sinkhole was filled by a town contractor shortly after.

“The costs seem well defined and seemed within reason as far as I can tell,” Councilmember Teri Dowling said.

Councilmember Matt Salter voted against confirming the cost. He said he was concerned about asking Pickett to pay the cost of staff time for things like correspondence and site visits.

Mayor Pro Tempore Julie McMillan said it was not a customary town project and that it’s unfair to ask taxpayers to absorb the costs.

“What bothers me is our staff’s costs and time are supported to be for solving problems in the town,” Salter said. “I understand what’s going on here, I just feel like it would be nice to be able to resolve this by not having to charge maybe fees that the resident feels are unfair.”

Councilmember Elizabeth Robbins recused herself from the discussion because she lives within 500 feet of the address.

Filling the hole required ensuring the parking and property were brought back to a level grade. About 13 yards of stack grout was pumped and spread into the sinkhole’s void. Backfill materials were added after the grout cured, then compacted.

The town hired Miller Pacific Engineering Group to do a geotechnical evaluation. Its report stated it was unable to find a clear cause of the sinkhole and suggested it could have been an old hand-dug well, a vault or decayed tree roots or stumps that caved.

Pictures of the hole shared by Simonitch at the council meeting show a rough property line going through the middle of the sinkhole. However, civil engineer Jeff Raines with Terraphase Engineering, who was hired by Pickett, said the void extended toward the town’s side of the property line.

“The sinkhole and the two tunnels that extended from it, the volume of soil that moved was tremendous,” Raines said. “It would fill this room about 22 inches up off the floor. The only feasible place that could have gone was into the sewer pipes that are out in the street.”

Raines said the sinkhole was likely caused by two sewer lines, one abandoned and one broken, owned by the Ross Valley Sanitary District. Groundwater came up and entered the old sewer pipes, taking dirt with it and creating a void in its wake, he said. He said more sinkholes are forming under the road in the area.

“Normally, it would flow down into the bay, but if there’s a shortcut that it can use then it will take it,” Raines said. “In my opinion, the whole problem was caused by the sanitary district and the sanitary district is responsible for it.”

Town Attorney Ben Stock said the court recommended a claim with the sanitary district, an option that has not been pursued.

“So there is another avenue for them to try to recover from other parties?” McMillan asked. Stock confirmed as much.

The lawsuit between Pickett and the town remains unresolved in Marin County Superior Court.