CLEARLAKE >> After six years of little to no code enforcement due budget constraints, the Clearlake City Council busied itself with nuisance abatements hearings. According to Clearlake Code Enforcement Officer Lee Lambert, administrative penalties for the abatements totaled $32,500.
“In the three years I have been on the council, this is the first time anything like this has been brought to us,” Clearlake Mayor Denise Loustalot said.
Of the seven abatements, only one property owner was present to discuss her case, which regarded the height and placement fencing. Claire Holmes, who owns the property located on Sonoma Avenue, informed the council the issues have been corrected for the most part, and will be completely resolved in a couple of days.
Holmes requested that the penalties be waived, as she spent a lot of money installing a new fence.
The council ultimately denied the request, determining that Holmes and the other property owners had multiple chances to appeal or protest the abatements and fees since originally notified in 2013.
Code enforcement has 81 active cases as of February, 20 of which are new. Since the reinstatement of the program in November, a total of $90,000 in penalty fees have been accrued.
The code enforcement program was discontinued six years ago because of a lack of funding, Clearlake City Manager Joan Phillipe said. Since then, multiple attempts to re-establish the program have failed.
Measure R, a half-cent tax that would have funded code enforcement, was rejected by voters in the November election. Although a majority favored the tax, the final tally failed to reach the required 66.7 percent.
As for the process code enforcement follows, Lambert said that there are two distinct procedures. The first procedure includes notifying and citing property owners. It is during this stage that an appeal can first be submitted. The second stage involves penalty and fines.
If no appeal has been received, the city can enforce the abatement and place a lien on the property.
Vehicle abatement was also discussed during the report. Vehicles can be considered public nuisance if they are abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperable and are located on either public or private property.
Public outreach and education is key to the abatement of vehicles, Phillipe said.
Volunteers and code enforcement staff will distribute informational pamphlets regarding the issue, with the hope that voluntary compliance will be the result, Phillipe continued.
“Rancho Cordova had such success with that program that they aren’t doing that much code enforcement … and it brought neighborhoods together,” Phillipe said.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
