Sixty-seven property owners from all corners of San Jose recently received notice that the city was placing liens on their properties for failing to pay sidewalk-repair bills that ranged from as little as $71 to $4,996.

Despite the many trees gracing Willow Glen streets, only one of the defaulted properties was in a Willow Glen neighborhood—on Harrison Street.

Proportionally, the poorest section of San Jose owes most of the money: 12 properties within the 95112 ZIP code owe a total $21,887.98—42 percent of the total owed by the other 17 ZIP codes carrying liens combined.

With repairs costing up to $5,000 in an area of the city with a median income of $41,014, owners get caught in a cash crunch when the city demands that sidewalks be fixed.

The city sells the liens—currently totaling $73,799.28—to Santa Clara County, which then recoups the money by adding the fees to property taxes. San Jose gets 99 percent of the money back after the county collects, according to a city council memo.

But homeowners don't have to handle the entire expense of repairing root-cracked or raised sidewalks. San Jose does have a $2 million sidewalk repair fund, but only single-family or owner-occupied duplex homes qualify. Commercial and rental properties aren't eligible.

And property owners do have to dig into their own pockets to pay for repairs upfront and then submit the receipt to the city for reimbursement, according to Kevin O'Connor, deputy director of transportation.

Still, Alex Mordwinow, in charge of San Jose's sidewalk-repair program, offered other options. "Some of our contractors are willing to wait for payment until the property owner gets their reimbursement check. We also have a hardship program, where the city pays the bill, based on income and the number of people in the home."

Clifford and Sharon Naylor live in Morgan Hill but rent their Willow Glen home on Harrison Street to their son and daughter-in-law. Without any warning, the Naylors became the beneficiaries of the city's sidewalk-repair program outside their Harrison Street home. Then the city stuck them with a $2,200 bill.

"We've never been notified of anything, they just came and did it," said Sharon. "It is frustrating because we had that same sidewalk replaced 12 years ago."

Sharon also wonders why the city would plant trees with such large roots that it knew would disrupt the sidewalk eventually. The Naylors at this point have no plans to pay the bill. In fact, they haven't even looked into the issue because they are so angry about what happened.

"It doesn't really worry me," Sharon said about the three liens that have been put on the home due to their lack of payment. "It just really isn't fair how this has all happened."

And even people who paid their bills get frustrated.

Noel St. John, who has lived on Pleaves Avenue in Rose Garden since 1999, took advantage of the city's grant program a year ago to be reimbursed for his sidewalk repair.

"The inspector comes out twice—the first time to see the nature of the repairs, and they cite you. He cited my neighbor, too. My neighbor was [angry] at me," St. John said. "He was eligible for [grant] funding too, but it was a little tense there. My neighbors were like, 'We don't have the money for this, and now we're being billed for it.'"

But once St. John set out to fix the sidewalk, he was flummoxed.

He said, "The process is confusing, and it seems like their office doesn't really know what the process is some times. Some of the people who work there didn't know answers to things ... I called a few times and got different answers each time."

St. John, however, did praise the work of the city contractor, Valley Concrete, who repaired his cracked sidewalk.

Some homeowners might wish they could avoid trees near the sidewalks of their houses altogether; that way, there would never be a cracked-sidewalk issue. But a city ordinance requires that trees be planted in the grass strips between the sidewalk and curb.

London Plain and Chinese Pistache are the most commonly planted strip trees in those strips, according to Ralph Mize, the city arborist. Trees like the small flowering plum stay small enough to avoid damaging the sidewalk. But to get a tree-planting permit, homeowners must choose trees that fit the general pattern of their street.

"There is a little bit of flexibility—if there's an established pattern, and those trees are doing well," said Mize. But, he added, if "it's planted with sycamores and someone wants to plant a magnolia, it's going to look out of place."

California's dry summers force tree roots to break through the surface dirt, searching out water. "Roots start creeping toward that nicely irrigated lawn across the sidewalk," Mize explained.

How can a homeowner escape the dilemma of having to plant trees that will damage the sidewalk that the city will then demand be repaired?

"It's a tough situation, and we understand," Mize said. "One of the criteria in the municipal code, for why a street tree can be replaced—if the sidewalk has been repaired repeatedly, and they've tried root barriers, and deep soaking, then that could be a reason the homeowner could get a permit to have the tree removed and possibly replaced."

Or a "root barrier," a plastic strip up to 10 feet long, can be installed during the sidewalk repairs to force roots to dive under the sidewalk rather than cracking through the surface to reach the lawn, Mize said.

Pruning roots also helps, he added, although that adds yet another fee.

"Homeowners pay for pruning, but we do have a grant program for low-income seniors and others through our office," the arborist said. "

For more information, call the city arborist's office at 408.277.2762.

Staff Writer Amy Wicks contributed to this story.