Code enforcers get tougher

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- City code enforcement officers are getting tougher in

their efforts to bring houses in the La Colonia Juarez neighborhood up to

code.

The deadline to fix violations was Sept. 1, but city officials said they

will give residents a few more weeks before issuing citations.

When city officials told residents at community meetings this summer that

their houses would have to be brought up to code after decades of

neglect, many residents reacted with fear and anger.

“We come across that all the time,” said Planning Director Andy Perea.

“Our mission is to educate residents about the purpose of codes and only

give fines when homeowners refuse to cooperate.”

Fountain Valley’s residential codes were created because a poorly

maintained property lowers value of the entire block, said Ed Nicholls, a

code enforcement officer who is reinspecting homes with code violations.

Exceptions to the codes include the small, sagging homes built in the

1930s, long before the city of Fountain Valley was founded, Perea said.

These historic properties are legal as they stand until homeowners make

significant changes to the structures.

Residents who moved to the neighborhood after 1957 must fix common

violations such as peeling paint, junk cars, debris, graffiti, and old

sheds and home additions that were built without a permit, Nicholls said.

About a dozen residents who ignored the city-sponsored cleanup days will

have to foot the bills to clean up their properties, Nicholls said. But a

family of four, earning less than $47,800 is eligible for the city’s

Housing Assistance Program, which grants $5,000 plus loans and rebates to

low-income homeowners.

Also, many charities, including Goodwill, will tow away and recycle

inoperative vehicles free of charge, he added.

Resident Carl Lara, who recently removed a cement overhang to comply with

the city’s building code, plans to replace it with a plastic overhang and

give his inoperative mobile home to Tuesdays Kids, a charity for HIV

positive patients.

“The city officials and the residents have worked like ants to clean up

the neighborhood,” Lara said. “But this should have happened 20 years

ago.”

Code enforcement officers usually respond to violations reported

throughout the city, Nicholls said. But this summer, they gave special

attention to La Colonia Juarez because the neighbors typically do not

report violations to the city.

“Residents usually want to know why we’re bringing the neighborhood up to

code now, instead of years ago,” Nicholls said. “Usually we react to

complaints of code violations, but now we’re actively looking for

violations.”

Nicholls plans to send out a second round of letters to the remaining 40%

of homeowners in the neighborhood who have not made any effort to

eliminate their code violations. Unlike last month’s friendly greeting,

this notice will be stern, he said.

“The community has a lot of pride, and they’ve really reached out to each

other to cleanup the lots,” Nicholls said. “My goal is never to send

people to the courthouse, but sometimes it happens.”