Saratoga News
News
Council considers whether a blight ordinance is the right ordinance
By Shannon Burkey
Saratoga may soon have a means of cleaning up rundown or deteriorating properties in the city--something it has never been able to do in the past.
"Saratoga has never had an ordinance for something like this," Councilman Chuck Page said. "The only reason I can think of is that most Saratogans take pride in their properties, so maybe we hadn't needed one."
The council decided to look into a blight ordinance after several residents asked it to do something about a house at the corner of Glasgow Drive and Kilbride Drive in the Golden Triangle area.
The house has sat vacant for 15 years and has now become an eyesore, say its neighbors, who maintain it has not been maintained in more than a year and is a fire hazard.
Neighbors said the house has been broken into twice, has bushes and weeds growing to the roof, and dead trees on the property. A December storm caused two birch trees in the front yard to blow over "like matchsticks."
Although the neighbors have complained to the city numerous times over the years, the city has not had the authority to require the owner to clean it up.
Apparently, the only way to reach the property owner is through a Saratoga post office box.
Under the current codes, the city may take action only if a house is deemed a hazard by either the fire department or vector control. Both departments looked at this particular house and did not feel it was an imminent threat.
"Basically, if you want to sit and let your house deteriorate and become very unsightly, we can't enforce it. There's no ordinance to having an ugly house," said community development director John Livingstone.
The city is now looking into creating just such an ordinance.
"This case is absolutely unbelievable for 15 years to go through that," Councilwoman Jill Hunter said.
Many neighboring cities have blight ordinances in place, and city attorney Richard Taylor looked to those to create a draft for Saratoga.
"The city of San Jose has a very comprehensive blight ordinance, and we used that as the base for what you see before you," Taylor said to the council. "This structure of ordinance would give staff considerable discretion to remedy blighted properties."
Hunter, however, is worried a blight ordinance could end up costing the city money as it chases frivolous complaints.
"I think this is very arbitrary and I don't think it's a good idea, to tell you the truth," Hunter said. "I think it will be very hard to decide what you're going to allow, and it talks of 'Big Brother.' I'm there looking out at my neighbor's house and picking what I don't like."
Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith said she wants to see the project move forward, but there should be guidelines to follow.
"There has to be a high cutoff, so that we're just dealing with the most egregious examples,' she said.
For 35 years, Dave Bench has lived across the street from the blighted property. In this case, he said, he and his neighbors are not worried about peeling paint or brown spots on the lawn; they would just like to see "a usual and customary care of the property that would match the neighborhood."
"I'd like to see somebody move in to it and take real care of it and become a part of my neighborhood," Bench said. "I'd like to see the city develop something that would bring that house and other houses up to the standards of the city."
Councilman Chuck Page said that this is good opportunity for Saratogans to help each other, and if for some reason someone cannot take care of their property, there are many groups, such as the Girl Scouts, who can help.
"We have an opportunity to help our neighbors whether they're there or not, and we can't let something go for 15 years," Page said. "I think that as neighbors we have a responsibility to help, and we have the opportunity as Saratogans to look out for each other."
The council has asked that a draft of the ordinance go before the planning commission to be discussed and flushed out before coming back for approval.
