The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

Willow Glen photo shop owner told to clean up his act

Code violation occurred after remodeling work that followed a 1989 car crash

By Christine M. Lias and Rebecca Wallace

In the latest chapter of a story that began with a car crash in 1989, a city appeals board decided Feb. 26 to give a Lincoln Avenue business owner until May to clean up a code violation--and until December to brighten his area with street trees and landscaping.

Bojay Eckold, who owns Castle Photo at 1000 Lincoln Ave., has until May 1 to get proper permits and submit plans for an outside door he had built on the side of his building without first obtaining building permits, said Michael Hannon, San Jose code enforcement supervisor.

If Eckold does not "legalize the door" by the deadline, he faces a $1,000 fine and an additional $100 per day until the violation is corrected, Hannon said.

In addition, the San Jose Appeals Hearing Board decided that Eckold has until Dec. 19 to provide landscaping and irrigation on his property, trees on the street in front of the store and awnings for the front of his building.

These improvements are the aftermath of a car crashing into Castle Photo in 1989--they were part of the conditions the city imposed when it approved Eckold's plans for repairs to the building in 1992.

In 1989, the city gave preliminary approval to Eckold's plans for an exterior remodel and building addition after the crash and issued him a site development permit. But Eckold never worked with the city to get a building permit, which would allow him to do the work, Hannon said.

Because there was no building permit, the site development permit lapsed, requiring Eckold to get a new permit in 1992. Eckold did the work anyway without city approval, which he obtained retroactively with the new permit on conditions that required the landscaping improvements, Hannon said.

According to Hannon, Eckold told the city that he had not built the addition and was merely repairing an existing part of the building; therefore, such extensive permits were not needed. City staff had to consult a 1950s aerial map for proof, which Hannon said was inconclusive. And people who complained to city staff in 1989 about the work said they recalled Eckold building the addition.

In October 1997, a Lincoln Avenue business owner complained to the city that the landscaping had not been completed, said code enforcement officer Cindi Gil-Blanco.

"He never did the landscaping; that was really the issue before the board," Hannon said of Eckold. "It's a nice corner. All the city really wants is the property to reflect that."

But Hannon said he discovered shortly before the Feb. 26 hearing that a compliance order sent to Eckold in November 1997--that had been intended to give him until Dec. 19, 1997, to finish the landscaping work--had mistakenly given him a Dec. 19, 1998 deadline.

"He got kind of a reprieve," Hannon said of Eckold.

Eckold told The Resident that prior to the compliance order, he had been given no time limit to complete the landscaping and had put the work on hold because of its high cost.

"If anyone wants to do anything new to their building, [city staff] can dictate what you can do and what you can't," he said. "I had no other leverage. I had only two choices: accept the proposal or tear down the facility. I couldn't afford either one."

Because the trouble began over the consultation of a city aerial map, the city is to blame for the mess, Eckold said. He also said that in 1992 an inspector came to Castle Photo and said the construction work was allowable under city code.

"I was under the impression that everything was done," Eckold said. "Now they want to know, 'What about landscaping?' Yes, I'll get it done as soon as I can afford it."

He estimated that construction and other costs thus far are between $20,000 and $30,000.

When asked about the illegal door, Eckold said that his contractor failed to look into the necessary permit requirements.

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