Council weighs new rules to help stem unpermitted construction with liens, higher fines

La Cañadans will want to think twice about breaking ground without proper permits, as the city imagines new ways to punish offenders who waste hundreds of city staff hours on unpermitted construction each year.

On Monday, the La Cañada Flintridge City Council further considered options that would stem what seems to be a rising tide of unpermitted property improvements inside city limits. In 2013, nearly one-third of the city’s 300 code enforcement issues were caused by residents and developers failing to seek permits, according to Community Development Director Robert Stanley.

Stanley estimated Monday that resolving the most basic violations, which require three to five hours of staff time, costs $175 to $300 per violation. More complex issues can run the city anywhere from $750 each to more than $1,000 of the code enforcer’s time.

“There’s also my time that’s involved, any (city) planner that might be involved… and also we have our building inspectors who have to go out to unpermitted construction (sites),” Stanley said. “All of that is time that the city’s paying for.”

The council first addressed the issue in November, directing city staff to convene a subcommittee to further examine options and help quantify how much time is spent on violations.

Solutions favored in Monday’s discussion related to raising public awareness, being more vigilant about reporting to the state those contractors who build illegally and increasing the fees when noncompliance is discovered.

Council members roundly approved mandating the display of brightly colored placards to indicate that a construction project has been approved, as well as vehicle stickers for contractors licensed to do business in the city. This would allow neighbors to easily check whether a project is permitted, Mayor Dave Spence said.

“I’m strongly in favor of some kind of sticker,” Spence said. “Every contractor who works in the city should have (one).”

The council saw wisdom in increasing the amount the city charges offenders once unpermitted construction has been observed. Currently, violators are cited $200 when an issue is not addressed by the city’s deadline. After that, officials levy $500 and then $1,000 for unresolved violations.

In Montclair, however, the citation schedule begins at $500 and increases to $2,500 and then $5,000, which is thought to better motivate property owners to comply, Stanley said. Higher citations would also help the city come closer to recouping code-enforcement costs.

Council members judged the merits of placing a lien or blemish on a property that has unresolved unpermitted construction, to provide a red flag warning for future potential buyers. They also discussed the feasibility of following Pasadena’s example of requiring home inspections before a house is sold.

Local Realtor and Public Safety Commissioner Wes Seastrom, addressing the council as a private citizen, said mandating home occupancy inspections would unnecessarily burden the home-selling process and potentially make La Cañada a less desirable place to do business.

“It’s a real can of worms that you need to really think very long and hard about,” he said.

While council members voiced support for placing a lien on noncompliant properties, they were largely against requiring home inspections due to the extra work and costs that would entail. Last year, a total of 274 homes were sold in La Cañada, according to the city’s figures.

Councilwoman Terry Walker, who served on the council subcommittee as a planning commissioner, clarified the point of pursuing the matter.

“We’re not out there to make life difficult on the homeowner who maybe bought a home that had some issues before they bought it and they were unaware of it. What we’re trying to do is to put forward some criteria to address those who abuse the system… the ones who knowingly, ongoingly and repeatedly do unpermitted work in the city.”

Council directed staff to determine the city’s authority to raise citation amounts and begin implementing the favored measures through adoption or ordinances. Changes will ultimately be brought back to council members for further refinement and potential adoption at a later date.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine