The Willow Glen Resident

Council Watch

Neighbors ask city to clean up unsightly homes

By Cecily Barnes

Fifty neighbors who live near two unkempt homes on Terra Bella Avenue in Willow Glen have petitioned the city code-enforcement department to do something about the blight on their street, asking that the homes be cleaned up or ripped down. In the past, owner Sam Curto illegally converted the houses into duplexes and rented them out, according to city records. In addition, code enforcement cited him for failing to keep his property up to safety and aesthetic standards. Residents on the street fear he will continue violating the codes unless something is done.

"We are hoping the city will force Sam Curto to convert both illegal additions back into single-family homes and to improve these houses to match the standard of our neighborhood," Terra Bella Avenue resident Tom Szoboszlay said, "or tear down the condemned structures and sell off the properties to allow a contractor to build structures that will complement our nice neighborhood."

Code-enforcement supervisor Mike Hannon said that while the city cannot force homeowners to sell their property, there are things that can be done.

"We have some additional enforcement tools that can impose some significant penalties on property owners," Hannon said. "If the owner does not comply with an order, the San Jose Appeals Hearing Board could impose penalties up to $2,500 each day for each [order] he does not comply with."

Code enforcement has already condemned one of Curto's buildings. The San Jose Appeals Hearing Board will review this decision Sept. 25. They will also vote on whether to demand that the owner clean up trash on the property at 958 Terra Bella Ave. At the hearing, neighbors say they will describe how the battered structures have lowered their property value and tainted their neighborhood.

"The paint is peeling, the landscaping is not well taken care of and there's always multiple cars parked out front," Szoboszlay said.

Other neighbors have similar gripes. They point out trash piles in the driveway, boards on the windows and one home's crumbling roof.

"The owner has rented these properties and just let them go and go," Terra Bella Avenue resident Winnie Benanti said. "I can't believe how many years he's been doing this and getting away with it."

Since 1988, Curto has been cited at least six times by the city of San Jose's code enforcement department. He was told to change rotting boards in the garage, repair illegal wiring, remove garbage and weed piles, take care of termite infestation, install smoke detectors, ventilate the bathrooms, repair hazardous plumbing and do away with an illegal addition to one of the homes. Some of these complaints resurfaced over the years, as the problems were ignored or fixed temporarily.

Property owner Curto could not be reached for comment.

In June, the inside of 958 Terra Bella Ave. was cleared out due to a house fire.

"Somebody was living in the back portion of the house after the fire," said Mike Hannon, code enforcement supervisor for the city of San Jose. "There was no electricity, and the city does not permit people to live in dwelling units with no electricity."

A huge pile of decomposing trash, old bicycle parts and a water heater remain in a heap behind the boarded up, condemned structure.

"That trash has been there since June," Terra Bella Avenue resident Carrie Chandler said. "The landlord just doesn't put any time or effort into the house."

While 958 Terra Bella Avenue is now unoccupied, 962 has tenants. They agree that their landlord should put more money into the homes and keep up on repairs.

"Sam just wants his rent money, and that's it," said Larry Leslie, who lives at 962 Terra Bella Ave. "Right now you can't walk across the heater grate, there's exposed electrical wires inside and outside the house, an old patch job in the bathroom is coming down, the fireplace is broken and the fence all the way around is rotten. Part of it fell on my daughter when we first moved in."

In years past, neighbors say they have offered to mow the unkempt grass of these properties just to keep their street looking manicured.

"This is Willow Glen," Terra Bella Avenue resident Winnie Benanti said. "We paid a lot of money for our houses so that we could live in a nice neighborhood."

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