LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Board of Supervisors approved a measure Tuesday that is meant to address problems that arise when unfinished homes go into foreclosure.
With foreclosures on the rise, Lake County Chief Building Official David Jezek said there are currently more than 100 building permits in Lake County that have unresolved issues and inspections still needed. The measure establishes a mechanism to inform potential buyers about outstanding permit issues and recoup the county”s costs involved with correcting violations.
“This affects ? normally ? less than 1 percent of the permits that are issued, and now it”s more than that ? as much as 5 percent,” Jezek said.
Supervisor Rob Brown said that percentage sounded low, and noted that not everyone who is out of compliance with the county”s building regulations may be aware that they are.
Jezek said the majority of the properties affected by the new measure would be those that are abandoned by their owners and go into foreclosure, which can turn into attractive nuisances. In addition, the measure allows the county to put a notice of the outstanding issues on the property title that would turn up in a title search and alert potential buyers.
When a property owner stops asking for inspections and stops communicating, the building department sends the owner certified letters and posts notices on the property to bring the owner into compliance.
A property owner has six months from the date a permit is issued to call for a first inspection, according to Jezek. If the permit owner does not request an inspection in that time, the Lake County Community Development Department”s Building and Safety Division sends a letter saying an inspection needs to be requested within 30 days, or the permit will be canceled.
If the owner still does not contact the building division, a final notice to comply is issued, followed by a notice of violation. Jezek said the department”s Code Enforcement Division usually posts a notice on the property at that time.
“That”s what we”re trying to keep within the building department so that the building department actually takes that through to completion,” Jezek said.
Fees for enforcement and notices can be stopped anytime the owner contacts the division, according to Jezek. Time extensions can be granted indefinitely at staff”s discretion.
The measure allows the county to put a notice of the outstanding issues on the property title that would turn up in a title search.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
