Following the enactment of Temecula's Vacant Property Registration Ordinance a report in The Californian discusses the ordinance and includes positive comments by Councilwoman Maryann Edwards on efforts by servicers to protect their collateral interests, reduce blight and proactively address safety concerns.

TEMECULA: Registry for foreclosed homes created

City seeks cooperation with lenders for safety, cleanliness

TEMECULA ---- There is no way to put a good spin on foreclosures, said Temecula City Councilwoman Maryann Edwards on Monday, but at least the city can keep track of abandoned homes.

For months, Edwards and city staff have worked to develop a way to relieve the blight and safety concerns created by empty houses left by owners who couldn't afford to keep them. The Temecula City Council last week adopted an ordinance that aims to diminish the negative effects neighborhoods experience because of foreclosed properties.

"I think no community is immune from economic distress, though some cities are overwhelmed by foreclosures," Edwards said. "But people are paying attention to how neighbors, neighborhoods, (homeowners associations) and municipalities deal with it."

While the ordinance is complaint-driven, it requires lenders who own or are responsible for abandoned dwellings to register them with the city. When a maintenance issue arises, the registry is used to notify the responsible party, which could face fines if the problems persist.

Though fines can be imposed on a person who deliberately violates the ordinance, the intent is to foster cooperation with lenders in keeping homes reasonably safe and clean during the foreclosure process. The registration enables code enforcement to keep track of the empty homes.

"In an extreme emergency, the city will take action to close up a house or drain a pool. But even then, there are liability issues," Edwards said. "It's a fine line the city walks to protect safety and respect property rights ---- even when we don't know who the property owner is."

There is no cost for the registration. However, liens could be filed on properties in cases where life-threatening safety problems arise, such as a pool without an adequate barrier to prevent access by children, so the city could recoup the cost of remedial measures.

Edwards encourages neighbors of an abandoned home to first contact their homeowners association, which may already be dealing with issues stemming from that home. The second step is to contact the city's code enforcement department to make sure the property is registered on the abandoned homes list.

"If it wasn't already on the list, code enforcement will be out within 24 hours of the call to secure the property," Edwards said. "Once it has been determined that the house doesn't pose an immediate threat to health and safety, code enforcement officers will immediately start researching the owner."

Edwards said it sometimes takes banks several months to figure out that a homeowner has abandoned a house. But once the responsible party is found, action is typically taken.

"Lenders are stepping up to the plate," said Edwards. "It's in their best interest to maintain those properties that they now own."

The ordinance won't be able to cure one of the most telltale signs of an empty home: brown lawns.

"Visually, that is the part that impacts neighbors the most," she said of dying or sometimes weed ridden lawns. "But making the properties less attractive for squatters and vandals is something we can do."

Mark Harold, director of building and safety, said code enforcement officers are making sure graffiti is kept under control at the empty homes. There is a different kind of spray painting being done by some homeowners associations: painting brown lawns green. Harold said that while the city isn't promoting or conducting that practice. He doesn't have a problem with the approach if it keeps up the appearances of a home where the water has been shut off.

Harold said the city's top concern is safety. City officials want to ensure that children can't get into backyards of vacant properties with pools and to prevent squatters from occupying empty homes.

In the months spent crafting the new law, community workshops were conducted to solicit ideas about how best to go after run-down properties. An unexpected result of the ordinance, said Harold, was that it has given people a forum to voice concerns about the housing slump, which has been leaving its mark on neighborhoods and on the city as a whole.

"Foreclosures are affecting everyone of us. We all have pride in ownership and feel like we are custodians of our city," Harold said. "So there is a fear about what is happening. For a lot of people, this process has been a way to get those feelings out ---- and to understand the city is listening."

Another community workshop is scheduled July 22 at City Hall to follow up on the ordinance. Information has also been posted on the city's Web site to help assist residents who are at risk of losing their homes at www.cityoftemecula.org/Temecula/Residents/foreclosureassistance/ .

To view the online article, please click here.

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