Madera CA (93637-39) has issued a new blight ordinance that takes effect February 2, 2007.

The following report details the new ordinance and the associated fines that will be applied.

New ordinance attacks public nuisance properties

Madera's new ordinance pertaining to public nuisances has been approved by the city council, published, and is due to go into effect Feb. 2. Those residents suspected of being in violation are likely to get visits from the city's code-enforcement authorities.

In a way, this will be nothing new, because the city's code enforcement department has been working since 2002 to encourage owners of nuisance properties to clean up their premises. But the ordinance was silent or vague on some items, and the new - or rather amended - ordinance addresses these situations.

The ordinance makes it clear that tenants as well as property owners are held liable for allowing violations to occur.

Chief code enforcement officer Manuel Ruiz said his officers will start out contacting violators by issuing courtesy notices.

"They will receive a courtesy notice first," Ruiz said. "If they don't correct the problem, they will receive a 10-day notice of violation. If that doesn't work, they will be fined $100 where it's allowed, or $75 where it's allowed." He said the bigger fines are for violations involving health and safety. He said $500 and $1,000 fines also might be levied in some cases.

"It's a daily fine until they take care of the violation," Ruiz said.

He said the 10-day notice is to give the violators the chance to be good citizens and take care of the problems by themselves. The fines come into play only if the violators refuse to correct matters.

"We start out as treating them as good citizens of Madera," he said. "The problem is that once they get the notice, but continue to (be in violation), that implies intent, and intent becomes criminal intent. If we wanted to, we could take it to criminal court."

He said unpaid fines could result in liens being placed on properties. Liens will have to be paid before a property can be sold. If a lien is big enough, it can be used to force sale of a property in order to pay the lien.

Among its provisions, the ordinance:



- Prohibits allowing one's property "to be defective, unsightly, defaced or in such condition ... that it causes or will cause an ascertainable diminishment of the property values of surrounding properties." In other words, if your house is the worst-kept on the block, you may be required to make repairs because it drags down property values in the neighborhood. This includes allowing graffiti to remain.

- Prohibits abandoning or vacating any structure in a way that it becomes available for illegal entry by vagrants or juveniles. This includes partially constructed or demolished structures on which work has stopped for six months or more.

- Prohibits storing dangerous or otherwise prohibited substances on the premises.

- Prohibits maintaining a labor camp on a property.

- Prohibits the keeping "of any animal, fowl, insect, or other living thing in a manner as to pose a threat, disturbance, danger or menace" to others.

- Prohibits the parking or storing of airplanes or aircraft parts; any construction or commercial equipment, except that being used for projects under construction on the property; wrecked or disassembled motor vehicles, unless concealed from view behind a solid fence or wall; storing any appliances outside for more than 72 hours; using trailers, boats or recreational vehicles as residences; storing recreational vehicles and trailers in the public right-of-way for more than 72 hours; working on airplanes, vehicles or boats in public view.

- Prohibits maintaining buildings which are unpainted, or which have dry rot, warping, termite infestation, decay or excessive checking or peeling.

- Prohibits maintaining buildings with broken windows or open windows.

- Prohibits allowing yards to become overgrown, or trash-filled, or to harbor rats, or to obstruct the views of public rights of way, or to obstruct sidewalks; prohibits dirt yards.

- Prohibits allowing trees or bushes to obstruct views of public signs, or to interfere with passage along a sidewalk.

- Prohibits front-yard clotheslines, or hanging clothes from fences to dry or for sale.

- A companion ordinance prohibits fences and walls higher than six feet in the rear of a building or three feet in the front. Prohibits fencing made of inappropriate materials, or which may be dangerous, or which may interfere with the public right of way. It also requires proper maintenance of fences. It prohibits the use of building fences from materials such as plywood less than 5/8 inch thick, particle board, cardboard, paper, Visqueen, plastic tarp, scrap wood or scrap metal. It also requires that fences be maintained in such a way as to not harm values of neighboring properties.

To view the online report, please click here.