City outlines nuisance abatement program
San Bernardino plans to devote two officers within the Code Enforcement Division to aggressively enforce significant public nuisances and land-use related issues around town.
Four months after the City Council agreed to set aside $1 million to proactively preserve and enhance the quality of life in the community, city staff members have proposed using those one-time funds to support a new Nuisance Abatement Program.
According to a staff report prepared for council members ahead of their meeting today, the program will abate nuisances such as unsecured vacant and abandoned buildings and structures that attract transients and lead to criminal activity, deterioration and instability in neighborhoods; fire-damaged buildings; dilapidated or deteriorated structures; and unpermitted buildings, among other nuisances that impact surrounding neighborhoods.
The $1 million will go toward contracting with professionals to clean or abate properties as needed.
Code enforcement staffers will begin by tackling existing cases deemed severe and
egregious.
Cases will be prioritized as follows:
• Priority I: Imminent threat to public health and safety.
• Priority II: Serious code violations.
• Priority III: Standard code violations.
In most cases, city staffers say, Priority I issues will be managed by the Nuisance Abatement Program. Priority II and III matters — nonpermitted electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, illegal garage conversions, inoperable vehicles, operating without a business license and others — will be addressed by the remaining code enforcement officers.
Once abatement is complete, a lien will be recorded against the property to recover costs associated with the process. When the property is sold, city staffers say, the city’s costs will be paid back and can be applied to the Nuisance Abatement Program.
“We’ve got to change the image of this city,” Councilman Fred Shorett said in December, “and this is one way of doing that.”
The City Council meets at 7 p.m. via web conference.