Nuisance Yard Ordinance Approved

An ordinance to control unsightly yards, debris and overgrown lawns in Torrance won City Council approval Tuesday night.

Some homeowners and neighborhood groups endorsed the measure, which city officials said will allow them to fight property blight and deterioration by citing owners whose property is deemed a nuisance by city inspectors.

Torrance resident Antoinette DeLorenzo told council members that she is embarrassed by the condition of a neighboring property. When guests enter her back yard, she said, “They go, ‘Oh my God, how can you live here?’ ”

But a few speakers called the ordinance, which includes a long list of conditions that would create a nuisance, overbearing and unnecessary.

“These are things that are going to make our average homeowners criminals,” Torrance resident Richard Gilbert said.

The ordinance, approved 6 to 1, gives an enforcement officer the power to determine if a nuisance exists. After two warnings, the city can issue a citation, which carries a penalty of up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second violation in a year and up to $500 for repeated offenses in the same period.

Such ordinances are common throughout Southern California, city officials said.