when the since-delayed cleanup was originally slated to start<\/a>, allowing the public utility to come in and demolish the structures.<\/p>\n District officials say the project is necessary so the easement containing the sewer is accessible. The 69-inch wastewater pipeline transports at least 10 million gallons of water daily to area reclamation plants.<\/p>\n
Communications director Jennifer Cabral said agreements are in place with owners of 13 of the 29 properties on the block. Though encroachments are typically the homeowner\u2019s responsibility to remove, as a compromise, those 13 homeowners are not being charged for the demolition.<\/p>\n
Cabral said a 10-foot cinder block wall \u2014 2 feet below ground and 8 feet tall \u2014 will be installed behind the properties, with a gate for access if requested. That will replace graffiti-filled back fences that have been there for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were trying to do it as neat and clean and the easiest way possible,\u201d Cabral said. \u201cThe intent was never to get into litigation with people or to fight this. In our mind, the easement language is very clear, and everybody knew about it when they purchased their property. They just actively took on risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015114_418_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
The O.C. Sanitation District placed a fence on Rhone Lane in Huntington Beach as it has begun an easement cleanup project.<\/p>\n
(James Carbone)<\/p>\n
The majority of the remaining homeowners on Rhone Lane, including the Rizzo family, are in active litigation against the sanitary district. The utility has submitted a motion for a summary judgment that is expected to be heard on May 1, Phillip Rizzo said, with a trial date currently set for June 8.<\/p>\n
The Rizzos have an above-ground pool, installed in 2023, which accommodates their wheelchair-bound adult son, AJ.<\/p>\n
The sewer pipeline was installed in 1959, pre-dating the houses on the land. Rizzo said communication from the utility over the easement was extremely minimal until a few years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are we proactively clearing 29 residents\u2019 properties for something that hasn\u2019t happened in 65 years?\u201d he said of a possible pipe malfunction. \u201cAnd if it does, you wouldn\u2019t clear all 29 properties. You would attack the issue where it was. There\u2019s so many red flags, I can\u2019t even get my head around it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He noted that the pipeline continues north, crossing under the 405 Freeway at one point.<\/p>\n
![\"Clark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015114_864_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Clark Stephens points Tuesday to where his property line runs along Rhone Lane in Huntington Beach.<\/p>\n
(James Carbone)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not arguing that this isn\u2019t critical infrastructure,\u201d Rizzo said. \u201cIt is. We\u2019re not arguing they don\u2019t need to get to it if there\u2019s an emergency. They will. We\u2019re just saying, \u2018Why are we proactively removing?\u2019 You\u2019re not tearing up the 405 just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabral responded that what O.C. San is doing in other locations doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrange County Sanitation District has easements throughout Orange County, and we are actively working on our easement program as a whole,she said. \u201cThis just happens to be one of the areas where we had maintenance crews that were going out and being impacted and could not access the locations that they needed to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to select which vehicles could go back there, based on the space that was available, because of these fences that were falling over or that had reached or expanded into our easement.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015114_333_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A fence runs on an alley behind Rhone Lane in Huntington Beach on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
(James Carbone)<\/p>\n
The Miller-Holder Rhone Lane Sewer Easement Cleanup Project was contracted to MetroCell Construction, Inc. last year for about $2.8 million. The cleanup work on the properties that O.C. San has agreements with is expected to be completed by December.<\/p>\n
Beresford said the court case should have played out before any demolition began, adding that he believes O.C. San is overstepping its bounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn easement is access,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the gates are for. You have access. They want fee simple [ownership] \u2014 they want to possess it \u2014 and that\u2019s not how it works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other property owners also wait for their backyards to be transformed. Clark and Kathy Stephens, who signed the agreement with the utility, have little more than a covered shed that will be lost besides the space.<\/p>\n
But Clark Stephens, who has been living on Rhone Lane for 40 years, said he resents the fact that the footing of the fence to be installed will intrude on his property by more than a foot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I have leadership in this county that doesn\u2019t have what it takes to be fair to their members,\u201d Stephens said. \u201cI pay my taxes every year. I\u2019ve avoided the easement, I take care of it for them. I\u2019ve mowed the lawn. If something happens on the back side of that fence, I go out and clean it up. I guess I resent the heavy-handed approach that they\u2019re taking toward us.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kathy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015114_78_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Kathy Stephens of Huntington Beach walks on train tracks behind her property on Rhone Lane on Tuesday. She said she has experienced drug dealing and other illegal activities there, and she is worried that it could get worse.<\/p>\n
(James Carbone)<\/p>\n
Frank Clarke, who is part of the litigation, lives further south on Rhone Lane. The 81-year-old bought the house in 1971. Two years later, he put in a pool for $5,000.<\/p>\n
He said that the pool has been used through generations, including currently by his great-grandson. But now he\u2019s watching the progress as the contractors will be moving down the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came home one day, and I saw water running down the street,\u201d he said. \u201cI figured somebody either had their sprinkler on or was draining their pool or whatnot, but there was a hose that came behind and into the alley. A day or two later, I come by and there\u2019s a big blue dumpster with all of these chunks of broken concrete in there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was with my wife and I said, \u2018Here they come.\u2019 They\u2019ve actually done it. One down, and how many more to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabral understands the situation is difficult but maintains that O.C. San needs unfettered access to the easement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel bad when I\u2019m talking to these residents \u2026 [but] with all due respect, the responsibility was negligent in these situations,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe not the ones who live there today, but way back when. They knew that this was the situation, and some of them chose to put in permanent structures, knowing that it wasn\u2019t allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A group of Huntington Beach residents continues to get uneasy whenever they hear the word \u201ceasement.\u201d That\u2019s because…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4329,14712,163,165,164,40848,115837,18025,10727,285,10803,115838,22562,7215,27790,115840,288,115839],"class_list":{"0":"post-264236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-anaheim","8":"tag-access","9":"tag-agreement","10":"tag-anaheim","11":"tag-anaheim-headlines","12":"tag-anaheim-news","13":"tag-cabral","14":"tag-easement-cleanup","15":"tag-fence","16":"tag-few-year","17":"tag-homeowner","18":"tag-litigation","19":"tag-o-c-san","20":"tag-pool","21":"tag-property","22":"tag-property-owner","23":"tag-public-utility","24":"tag-resident","25":"tag-rhone-lane"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015113_532_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776015113_338_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n