Anaheim : Lynne-Jeffrey Area Starting to Clean Up

Signs that some property owners are responding to the code enforcement crackdown in the Lynne-Jeffrey neighborhood were evident recently as painters covered graffiti on a few apartment buildings.

With 524 violations for substandard housing and 133 nuisance citations issued so far for 74 out of 115 buildings in the neighborhood, the area is still a long way from acceptable, John Poole, senior code enforcement officer, said. The crackdown began two weeks ago.

“We have seen a substantial amount of work, and so far we’ve had nothing but cooperation,” he added, “but most haven’t done anything.”

Property owners who are cited have 30 days to repair their properties.

To date, the city has inspected 527 apartment units and found such violations as faucets without handles, leaking ceilings, cockroaches, broken windows, mice, inoperable plumbing and defective appliances.

Outside, inspectors have found faulty hand railings, crumbling stairways, termites and broken-down cars, according to Ruth McDonald, an inspector who was in the area last week.

The door-to-door inspections of the neighborhood, which is near the Disneyland Hotel, has the support of the City Council, even though Mayor Don Roth balked when he first heard that door-to-door inspections had begun without the council’s prior approval.

But last week he agreed with the full council that the number of complaints in the area warranted the crackdown.

The inspections are expected to be completed in another week, McDonald said.