Code compliance, or meeting the property use/maintenance standards set by the municipal code, has been and still is a nagging issue in Lompoc. Some properties continue to present an eyesore and in some cases create hazardous conditions for neighboring properties.
In February 2012, the Lompoc City Council, realizing something needed to be done, began the process of developing and implementing an administrative citation tool to assist in obtaining municipal code compliance when voluntary compliance efforts failed. It’s still on candidates’ minds today as the current election campaign shifts into high gear.
The council’s energy was focused on cleaning up the community. As I travel the town I, too, am concerned that a few property owners and tenants don’t seem to realize that their messy property impacts the fabric of the community.
I have seen tangled vegetation punctuated with a collection of old car parts, trash, broken equipment and pieces of buildings on several parcels. Some are just a few steps off of H Street, a main thoroughfare in the city and next to thriving businesses.
So on May 1, 2012, the council approved a new nuisance ordinance that was designed to help clean up the city. That was 2012. Let’s fast forward to October 2014.
Recently a new winery opened at the corner of Chestnut Avenue and D Street. The owners converted the former “JM Club,” which had become deteriorated and forgotten over the years, into a very appealing building with some creative, drought-tolerant landscaping. This project really dressed up the corner lot and should become an example of what property owners can do if they want to contribute to improving the aesthetics of the city.
But next door there is a serious problem.
The neighboring building on North D Street contains a thrift shop type of resale business — basically, it is a huge, disorganized pile of junk that is easily visible from a well-traveled street and next door to the new winery. Not only is this mess a serious eyesore, but it also exposes neighboring buildings to a serious fire threat because the high piles of combustible materials are right against the thrift shop and neighboring buildings.
The city has had a several months-long active code enforcement action in process with the property owner and business operator. It has notified the property owner several times, almost since the day the business opened.
So, who owns this property? Lompoc’s own mayor, John Linn! But, the city hasn’t been able to convince the mayor to get his tenant to clean up the place.
I pointed that out in a local blog recently, prompting Mayor Linn to call me and say I was mistaken, that he was not the owner of the property. But a check of public records notes that the property is owned by Double L Services Inc. — a company owned solely by Linn. And a fabric sign on the building, before it was leased, read, “For lease — call John” and had his cell phone number on it.
Why would he deny ownership when the facts can be so easily verified? Did he just forget that he owns and pays taxes on a 17,000-square-foot building?
Linn must have had a change of attitude since he said during a public hearing in 2012 that “he sees the proposed Code Enforcement Ordinance as a good tool that will allow for better and quicker public compliance.”
He even went so far as to try to get the council to authorize him to go out and identify deficient properties and take photos. They didn’t go along with this, and judging by how he maintains his own property, I don’t know how he could have faulted others for doing the same thing he allows to happen.
The council also approved sending a letter, signed by the mayor, containing the following statements: “The reason you are receiving this letter is because of nuisance conditions on property you own in our community. As your mayor, I believe in our community, and I believe in the commitment and resolve of our citizens as we work together to make our city an even better place to live, work and raise our families. Please take a moment to review the conditions observed on your property as outlined in the attached notice.”
Maybe Linn needs to send himself a letter like this.
I don’t know about you, but it would seem to me that elected officials should set the example for the community. This becomes even more important when they try to establish themselves as the “expert” on issues such as code enforcement.
There are literally hundreds of rules that apply to how properties are supposed to be maintained, and for the mayor, who has strongly advocated enforcement efforts in the past, to ignore them after being told repeatedly to clean the place up is indicative of someone who believes that he is above the rules.
How long will it take for the mayor to clean up his act? Elect someone for mayor who knows the rules apply equally to everyone, including himself, in November.
— Ron Fink, a Lompoc resident since 1975, is retired from the aerospace industry and has been active with Lompoc municipal government commissions and committee since 1992, including 12 years on the Lompoc Planning Commission. He is also a voting member of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association. Contact him at news@noozhawk.com. The opinions expressed are his own.
