Report on City Enforcment on Blighted Property in GT

From Email Inbox and In the News



Here are the facts, and questions the Citizens would like to know?

Like everywhere Property Values in GT are Going DOWN... (What are they smoking at City Hall?)

What are the NUMBER OF VIOLATION, Violations Corrected, and FEES COLLECTED...?

A True and Full Accounting would be nice for the PUBLIC.

How many hours of Code Enforcement Officer Time was available for NON Rental UNITS?

How many Family Trust Homes were included on the List of "Suspect" Rentals and were these families, some who have been here for years dealt with by the City?

Were any Rental Properties Confiscated for being Drug Houses?





City touts code program; county might follow suit
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 01/09/2008 09:00:25 PM PST

GRAND TERRACE - City officials are touting a year-old program to clean up blighted rental properties as a model for others to follow.


Since the program was launched in January 2007, the number of rental homes and apartments with weeds, trash, cracked paint, damaged roofs and other problems has considerably dropped, officials said.

Under the program, owners of rental properties must pay an annual fee and have their homes and apartment units inspected by a code-enforcement officer.

Last year, the officer inspected each of the city's 1,100 apartment units and 239 single-family-home rentals.

The fee for apartment owners is either $36 or $48 per unit per year, depending on the number of units. Owners of single-family rental homes are charged $95 per year.

The officer looks for code violations such as inoperative vehicles, trash, debris, dead or overgrown vegetation and other visible problems.

Owners who fail inspections are subject to fines if the problems aren't corrected.

Assistant City Manager Steve Berry said most people fixed the problems after an initial warning and that few fines have been issued.

"Our whole code-enforcement mantra is working with the people," Berry said. "It's not based on fining people."

Residents and business owners said the program has worked.

"It has improved the housing inventory and property values and general appearance in Grand Terrace," said Jeffrey McConnell, a real-estate agent who lives in Grand Terrace.

In its first year, Berry said the program generated about $68,000 in fees - slightly more than the $67,000 the city spent on it.

The money paid for a part-time code-enforcement officer, a clerk to manage the program and start-up costs for a computer, training and equipment, Berry said.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is considering adopting a similar program requiring single-family-home rentals to register as businesses, except if the property is rented to a direct family member. The program would apply only in unincorporated areas.

Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said the county is revising its proposal after receiving feedback that it unfairly punishes good landlords.

As a result, Hansberger said he wants the inspection-fee requirement to apply only if there is a verified complaint that a property has code problems.

"I want the absentee landlords to take a more active interest in their communities," Hansberger said. "The whole idea is to fight crime and make the communities more liveable."