The San Marino City Council directed city staff to prepare a draft Vacant Residential Property Registration Ordinance at its April 29 meeting.
Interim Community Service Director Cindy Collins, who presented the city’s findings on the possible ordinance, explained that the main purpose of the ordinance is “to be able to access the owner in the event of an emergency.”
Details have not been determined yet, but Collins provided the council with many choices for the various components of the ordinance. The registration process, enforcement mechanism and the legal definition of vacant are all up for discussion.
At the very least, a draft ordinance would require that vacant property owners register their property with the city.
“We want to put the responsibility back on the legal owner,” she noted, adding that the city would not be going door-to-door to find vacant properties.
Council member Steven Huang added that he thought the purpose of the ordinance was to register properties, not patrol them.
San Marino Police Lieutenant Aaron Blondè notified meeting attendees and council members that residents can put their house on house watch for a $5 per day charge. He was concerned that putting vacant properties on house watch would take away services from full time residents.
The Police and Fire Departments only recently began tracking calls for service to vacant properties. Though quantifying the issue is not possible, residents shared their experiences with vacant properties during public comments.
Gene Chuang of Gainsborough Drive is a block captain on his street. His neighbor, who lives fulltime in Arcadia, has left his home vacant for 25 years, unwilling to sell or rent the property.
“It’s developed a nice ecosystem,” he said of his neighbor’s backyard, which has seen everything from coyotes to stray cats. Chuang has dealt with the neighboring home’s maintenance issues as they’ve crept onto his property.
“I’ve been property management for this house,” Chuang added. The home was also burglarized the week before the April 29 council meeting.
David Lipps of Pasqualito Drive has a better working relationship with the owners of the property next to his home.
“All vacant houses aren’t unprotected and dangerous,” Lipps said. “You’ve got to think of all ranges of quality of vacant homes.”
City Attorney Steve Dorsey assured the council that such an ordinance would be legal. 164 of California’s 482 cities have established a Vacant Property Registration Ordinance.
Mayor Allan Yung said he was sympathetic to the idea, but wanted the focus of the ordinance to be on public safety.
“I want our ordinance to come out in favor of the owners of the vacant properties,” said Mayor Yung. “It should not be written with a punitive sense.”
Before ending the discussion, council members began to share some ideas about the legal definition of vacant. Council member Richard Ward felt 30 consecutive days was an appropriate definition, while Council member Steve Talt suggested 45 consecutive days.
